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☆ Kitchen Upgrades You’ll Probably Regret Paying For
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Sophie Donelson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Why had I fallen prey to the Instagram Reels and TikTok videos that malign the gap between cabinets and ceiling? My top cupboards, which hiked the cost of my cabinets about 35%, finished the millwork handsomely, but they were basically unusable. Before you, too, succumb to custom-kitchen lust, here are five “must-haves” that design pros, and some reality-checked clients, say you almost certainly don’t need.

☆ The Art of Telling Forbidden Stories in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Han Zhang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Browsing one of the literature bulletin boards, he came across a serialized novel titled “My Beijing,” published under the pseudonym Drunken Fish. Hao’s depiction of Chengdu’s seedy underbelly became a sensation on forums like Tianya, one of the period’s largest blogging platforms. Once, a colleague recommended the novel to Hao without knowing that he was Murong Xuecun. “From the get-go, he has been completely obsessed with how people are corrupted by the environment in which they live,” says Megan Walsh, author of “The Subplot,” a book about contemporary Chinese literature. Later, at a propaganda meeting, the deputy party secretary of Chengdu criticized Hao’s fiction for damaging the city’s image.

Persons: Hao, ”, Fish, Murong Xuecun, Wei Da, Wei, Megan Walsh, Li Boqing, Li, Ran Yunfei, ” Ran Organizations: Authorities, Writers ’ Association, International New York Times Locations: Beijing, H.R, Shenzhen, Chengdu, China, North Africa, Weibo

☆ Prigozhin resurfaces in Belarus, tells Wagner fighters they have the 'biggest job in the world coming up'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin shared a video Wednesday that appears to show him in Belarus. In recent weeks, however, the Wagner boss had himself been spotted inside Russia. In recent years, Wagner mercenaries have deployed to Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic, where they have been accused of terrorizing local populations as they combat insurgent groups. Prigozhin, in the video posted Wednesday, suggested Wagner's mission is far from over. "The biggest job in the world [is] coming up very soon," he continued, adding: "We'll definitely be traveling all over the world."

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, It's, it's, Alexandr Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Central African, Wagner Locations: Belarus, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russia, Belarusian, Africa, Libya, Mali, Central African Republic

☆ Vintage Zelenskiy gets less than he wanted from NATO but takes home real gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

That would mean the alliance itself would be at war, and leaders won't go that far. But by the end, after one-on-one meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders, Zelenskiy had softened his tone, describing the outcome as "good", though not "ideal". "It is very important: for the first time since independence, we have formed a security foundation for Ukraine on its way to NATO," Zelenskiy said, adding there had also been "a good reinforcement with weapons." On the summit's sidelines, Group of Seven countries unveiled an international framework to boost Ukraine's long-term security against Russia. A slew of other military packages were announced at bilateral meetings between Zelenskiy and NATO leaders.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Neil Melvin, Biden, Putin, craven, Melvin, Mykhailo Podolyak, Olha Stefanishyna, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Tom Balmforth, Sabine Siebold, Andrew Gray, Anna Dabrowska Organizations: NATO, Russia, Kyiv, U.S, Ukraine Council, London, Royal United Services Institute, Reuters, Eastern, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Vilnius, Ukraine, U.S, Russia, Kyiv, NATO, Zelenskiy, Moscow, United States, Germany, Bucharest, Reuters Ukraine

☆ Analysis: Biden got almost everything he wanted from the NATO summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —President Joe Biden got almost everything he wanted from the NATO summit. President Joe Biden speaks at Vilnius University in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, after attending the NATO Summit. On Wednesday for instance, Russia marked the NATO summit by launching airstrikes against Kyiv region. US President Joe Biden (R) attends a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 12, 2023. That President Biden and NATO didn’t invite Ukraine to NATO because he’s afraid of Russia?” Kaleniuk asked.

Persons: Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, craves, “ It’s, ” Biden, Zelensky, Biden, “, ” Zelensky, Russia –, Putin, NATO’s, craven, Susan Walsh, –, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Vladimir Putin, Jeff Flake, Fumio Kishida, barnstormed, ANDREW CABALLERO, REYNOLDS, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Jake Sullivan, Daria Kaleniuk, ” Kaleniuk, Sullivan, Dmitry Peskov, Ukraine –, William Burns, he’d, ” Organizations: CNN, NATO, Poignantly, Russia, Congress, Nordic, Biden, Vilnius University, Ukraine, Capitol, Republican, Japanese, GOP, ” Ukraine, AFP, Getty, “, NATO didn’t, Kremlin, CIA Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Soviet, Europe, Sweden, Finland, Kyiv, Lithuania, Vilnius, Western, Crimea, US, Ankara, Turkey, AFP, Ukrainian, NATO, Moscow, Russian

☆ Biden welcomes Finland to NATO ahead of summit with Nordic leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Biden travelled to Finland, which shares a border with Russia, straight from this week's NATO talks in Vilnius, Lithuania to participate in a U.S.-Nordic summit with the leaders of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. He will also hold a joint news conference with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto before heading back to Washington. Ahead of a bilateral meeting with Niinisto, Biden hailed Finland's as an "incredible asset" to the NATO military alliance. Niinisto said Finland's NATO membership heralded "a new era in our security", and applauded Biden for "creating unity" at the Vilnius summit which focused on uniting behind Ukraine. At this week's NATO summit, Biden described Finland and Sweden's push to join NATO as evidence Putin's "craven lust for land and power" had backfired, only serving to strengthen the military alliance.

Persons: Joe Biden disembarks, Finland Sauli, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Biden, Sauli Niinisto, Niinisto, Finland's, Tayyip Erdogan, craven, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Donald Trump, Putin, Steve Holland, Essi, Heather Timmons, Rosalba O'Brien, Emma Rumney Organizations: Air Force, United, Nordic, Summit, Read, NATO, Finland's, Russia, White, Ankara, White House, Thomson Locations: Helsinki, Vantaa, Finland, HELSINKI, Russia, Vilnius, Lithuania, U.S, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Washington, Soviet, Ukraine, Turkey

☆ How to Talk About Marital Unhappiness Before It’s Too Late
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Catherine Pearson | More About Catherine Pearson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City and his wife, Chirlane McCray, announced that they were separating after nearly 30 years in an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday. Their story begins with an “aha” moment in the midst of what the article calls yet another “stale Saturday night of binge-watching television” together. “Why aren’t you lovey-dovey anymore?” Mr. de Blasio reportedly asked his wife, a question likely to feel familiar to anyone in a long-term relationship who has felt the slow fade of lust and excitement. Certainly the couple — who are not divorcing, and will continue to share the Brooklyn townhouse where they raised their children — have faced other complicating factors that extend far beyond humdrum weekend plans, among them the grueling pace of electoral politics and Mr. de Blasio’s failed presidential bid. Still, for those who see a kernel of themselves in the couple’s story, experts say there are simple but helpful questions to ask yourself and your partner before it is too late.

Persons: Bill de Blasio, Chirlane McCray, de Blasio, —, de Blasio’s Organizations: The New York Times, aha, Brooklyn Locations: New York City

☆ Some fans have turned on Lana Del Rey. Here's a complete timeline of how the singer soured her own reputation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

May 2020: Del Rey posted an unprompted public statement about her own reputationIt all began on May 21, four months after she attended the 2020 Grammys, when Del Rey shared a lengthy open letter on Instagram. —Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) January 12, 2021—Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) January 12, 2021Hardly one to stifle momentum, Del Rey also responded to the Australian blog Tone Deaf, which had published an article criticizing the defense of her album cover. —Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) January 12, 2021—Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) January 12, 2021Del Rey continued tweeting about her BBC interview, clarifying that she meant to criticize Trump's "significant lack of empathy" and "the issue of sociopathy and narcissism in America." Advertisement—Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) January 12, 2021—Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) January 12, 2021She also expressed disdain for negative publicity, citing her "long term relationship" with magazines like Complex and Rolling Stone, calling the former "pathetic." June 24, 2023: Del Rey arrived 30 minutes late to the stage at Glastonbury, telling the crowd, 'My hair takes so long to do'Lana Del Rey performs at Glastonbury Festival.

Persons: Lana Del Rey, Del Rey, —, Norman, Rockwell, Del Rey's, Del, she's, Ariana, Camila, Cardi, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Lizzy Grant, Fader, Helen Brown, Brown, Christine Capetola, Lana, Ashley Reese, YouTuber D'Angelo Wallace, Lana Del, that's, Karen, Wallace, Nichole Perkins, Roxane Gay, Ariana Grande, Cat, Pence, It's, Magdalene, George Floyd, Kehlani, Tinashe, Violet, Noble, lana, frick, preemptively, I'm, Annie Mac, Trump, Donald Trump, Lana stans, Mac, Biden, I've, tweeting, Trump's, Steven Hyden, Ann Powers, Powers, they'd, Judah Smith, megachurch Churchome, Smith, Jack Antonoff, God, desirs, Marie Claire, Chris Pratt, Justin Bieber, Judah, Coleman Spilde, Joseph Okpako, WireImage Del, who's, Let's Organizations: Service, Pitchfork, Independent, Tulane, Trump, Twitter, Country, Billboard, Barnes, CDC, ppl, Michigan, YouTube, Capitol, NPR, Hall of Fame, BBC, Hillsong, Daily, Catholic Church, Glastonbury, Glastonbury Festival Locations: Los Angeles, America, Del Rey's, Del Rey, Churchome, y'all, WireImage Del Rey, Glastonbury

☆ Can You Still Be a Femme Fatale if You’re Butch?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Kristen Arnett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In due course the novel offers a steamy love story, and Patrick proves to be a deft hand at the erotic. I do mean “hand” — an important word when it comes to queer sex, for obvious reasons. How they look at her informs her relationship to her butch body. It makes her transparent to the headmaster, who cannot recognize her as a sexual rival for his femme wife’s affections. Then there’s “the Housemistress,” the other butch working at the school, who becomes a kind of talisman.

Persons: Patrick, hawkishly, They’re licked, There’s, butch, “, ”

☆ Tucker Carlson once described his desire to see a 'mob' of white men 'hurt' a kid — 'I could taste it,' disturbing text shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tucker Carlson once sent a text saying he wanted a group of white men to kill an "Antifa kid." Carlson texted a producer about the moment he felt blood lust seeing a "kid" being hurt. In the text — sent on January 7, 2021, one day after the Capitol riot — Carlson said that he found himself "rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they'd hit him harder, kill him." The text message was included — but redacted — as evidence in Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against Fox News. The Times obtained the redacted Carlson text message from several unnamed sources who were granted anonymity to share the message.

☆ Opinion | Tucker Carlson’s Text, and ‘an Internal Struggle With Morality’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “The Text That Got Carlson Dismissed” (Business, May 3):How ironic that a text that included an unapologetic racist’s epiphany as to our common humanity was one of the causes for his firing. The trigger was Tucker Carlson’s comment that “it’s not how white men fight,” but his acknowledgment and repudiation of his own lust for the Trump mob to kill the “Antifa kid” showed an honesty and reflection absent among his fellow TV personalities on Fox. Michael K. CantwellDelray Beach, Fla.To the Editor:Your article correctly emphasized the racism inherent in the text message but completely failed to emphasize the human being who tried to identify with the victim and realized that the lust for violence was worth questioning. Did you decide that given his history, Tucker Carlson does not deserve any recognition for what was clearly an internal struggle with morality? If so, you may be right, but you have also done a significant disservice by not recognizing that very act as essential to our common survival.

☆ Morning Bid: Crowded bonds unnerved
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

This has some wondering if the recent dash for cash and top-rated bonds has become a bit crowded and how much more tightening central banks have to do. As we move into the weeds of the first-quarter U.S. earnings season, it's been a mixed bag so far. That clearly unnerved UK government bonds - where 10 year yields jumped 10bps - but it also jarred sovereign bonds around the world. Elsewhere, further signs of healing were evident in the global bank funding market. Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) sold $1 billion of additional tier-1 debt, the first major global bank to sell the risky securities since similar bonds issued by Credit Suisse were wiped out last month.

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - If a mega Western recession is coming down the pike in the second half of this year, someone should point it out to the junk bond market. The investment herd seems more convinced than ever that recession is on the way amid tightening bank credit after the March bank stress - even if not all the incoming evidence supports that take. More than a third now see the biggest risk ahead as a bank credit crunch and global recession. And that's with junk spreads more than three times higher than quality corporates. U.S. and European junk bond spreads historicallyBank of America survey on investment grade bonds vs junkCOURAGE AND DECOMPRESSIONThere's little doubt than many investors want to steer well clear, for now at least.

☆ Analysis: LVMH's caution points to Americans' waning lust for luxury
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A LVMH luxury group logo is seen prior to the announcement of their 2019 results in Paris, France, January 28, 2020. European labels including LVMH's Louis Vuitton and Dior, as well as Chanel and Hermes have been riding a wave of strong demand from Americans, who emerged from lockdowns with savings and a desire to splash out on designer labels. He added the group is taking a cautious approach to price increases this year -- not just for cognac. "It's probably the most emblematic luxury store in the world," said Guiony. Elliott Savage, portfolio manager of U.S.-based fund YCG Investments, which holds shares in LVMH and other luxury brands, said a weakening U.S. luxury market in the near term could present an opportunity for dominant players to take market share.

☆ Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and other celebrities charged $400,000 for violating crypto rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday charged Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and several other celebrities with failing to disclose that they were paid to promote crypto. The celebrities agreed to pay $400,000, including fines, and return what they were paid for the promotion. For their violations, Lohan agreed to pay $30,000 in fines in addition to the $10,000 she earned for the promotion. Paul agreed to pay $75,000 in fines on top of the $25,000 he earned. “At the same time, Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation.”

Lindsay Lohan attends/performs during a photocall for "Speed The Plow" at Playhouse Theatre on September 30, 2014 in London, England. The Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled fraud and unregistered securities charges against crypto founder and Grenadian diplomat Justin Sun, alongside separate violations against the celebrity backers of his Tronix and BitTorrent crypto assets, which included Jake Paul, Lindsay Lohan and Soulja Boy. The unregistered offer and sale charges, on the other hand, are similar to charges the SEC has unveiled against other crypto offerings and exchanges, including Genesis, Gemini and Do Kwon's Terraform Labs. “This case demonstrates again the high risk investors face when crypto asset securities are offered and sold without proper disclosure,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Tron and his backers' alleged behavior was part of an "age-old playbook to mislead and harm investors," SEC enforcement chief Gurbir Grewal said in a statement.

The SEC said Sun's activity generated tens of millions of dollars of illegal profit at other investors' expense. "This case demonstrates again the high risk investors face when crypto asset securities are offered and sold without proper disclosure," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. Andrew Brettler, a lawyer for Lohan, said the actress did not know about the disclosure requirements until last March. The SEC has been ratcheting up efforts to crack down on the crypto industry, which Gensler has called a "Wild West" riddled with misconduct. It said Sun inflated apparent trading volume in TRX through extensive "wash trading," involving simultaneous or near-simultaneous purchases and sales with no real change in ownership.

☆ The SEC charges Tron founder Justin Sun and 8 celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Jake Paul in crypto lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The SEC sued Tron founder Justin Sun in a lawsuit involving Tronix and BitTorrent crypto tokens. It also charged eight celebrities with promoting the tokens without disclosing they were paid. Eight celebrities including the actress Lindsay Lohan, YouTuber Jake Paul, and singer Akon were also charged. The SEC said the celebrities it charged promoted crypto assets without making it clear they were being paid. Insider did not immediately receive comment from the charged celebrities it contacted ahead of publication.

☆ Hey, Bing, Help Me Overcome My Fear of College Basketball
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

I’m still learning so I appreciate your understanding and patience.🙏Do you know a lot about college basketball, and do you enjoy talking about it? Why are people so obsessed about the college basketball brackets? I've never filled out a college basketball March Madness bracket, and I heard that it's virtually impossible to do completely accurately, even if you predict the winner. When filling out my college basketball bracket, should I just guess according to what team names I like the best? :)I’m afraid I can’t fill out a March Madness bracket, as I’m just a chat mode of Microsoft Bing search.

☆ My Etsy store has made $1.9 million in lifetime sales. Here's how I found success selling handmade jewelry.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ashley Bostwick started her Etsy shop, Wander and Lust Jewelry, in 2014 as a side hustle. Since then, she's made $1.9 million in sales on Etsy and teaches a course to mentor Etsy sellers. Since starting her Etsy shop, Wander and Lust Jewelry , in 2014, she's made $1.9 million in sales, which Insider verified with documentation. Pieces from a Wander and Lust Jewelry collection. Pieces from a Wander and Lust Jewelry collection.

☆ Far from home, 10-year-old Ukrainian's dream of soccer stardom lives on
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Artem, a compatriot of Danylo plays with a ball during practice with his football team in Vienna, Austria, November 17, 2022. REUTERS/Lisa LeutnerVIENNA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Ten-year-old Danylo Astion fled Ukraine with his family soon after Russia invaded but his dream of becoming a soccer star lives on in Vienna, where training for one of Austria's top teams has rekindled his lust for life. Danylo fled Kyiv in March with his family, taking little more than the clothes on his back, his mother said. After a week at Austria's border with Hungary they arrived in Vienna, where friends had invited them to join them. He didn't smile for weeks when we were in Vienna and all of a sudden when he started playing again he started laughing and said 'Hey Mama, look, I'm playing again'," she said.

☆ Trump lashes out at polls showing Ron DeSantis with a big lead in the 2024 GOP primary
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis beating him in a head-to-head matchup for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. DeSantis led Trump 52 percent to 38 percent in the Wall Street Journal survey, which was released Wednesday. Fox News reported on the Wall Street Journal poll and a USA Today/Suffolk University poll that showed DeSantis up 56 percent to 33 percent over Trump in a one-on-one test. The hypothetical head-to-head matchups assume that Trump and DeSantis are the only candidates who receive support from GOP primary voters. One GOP strategist who worked on Trump's 2020 campaign likened DeSantis' early lead to the fast-disappearing edge that then-Texas Gov.

☆ ‘The Whale’ Review: Brendan Fraser for Best Actor? Fat Chance
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

If any movie released this season can be counted upon to reduce your pizza consumption, it’s “The Whale,” in which the title figure is an unfortunate 600-pound writing instructor brought to the edge of death by his own eating habits. He consumes candy by the bag and chicken by the bucket. He is on first-name terms with his pizza-delivery guy. And he’s portrayed by Brendan Fraser , whose triumphant comeback this film is meant to be, in a bid for one of those acting Oscars that really should go to the makeup and prosthetics department. Lots of screen time is spent on voyeuristic fascination with how Charlie manages; he has a handle over his bed to allow him to pull up and out of it, and he takes his shirt off so we can see the sores on his back.

☆ Ron DeSantis just announced he has a memoir coming out soon. Here's what we learned from his first book, a scathing take on Obama
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

DeSantis wrote the book during the Tea Party movement and before he ran for Congress. He did so throughout his 2011 book, "Dreams from Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama." According to NPD BookScan, which tracks retail sales of US print books, "Dreams from Our Founding Fathers" sold 125 copies through July of 2022. In one section of the book, DeSantis wrote that Obama lacked the humility of George Washington, the first US president. Obama, DeSantis wrote, "garnered flattering media coverage by a press thoroughly enamored with his progressive politics."

☆ China's people are protesting the country's severe zero-COVID policies, and public-health experts agree with them
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Protests are erupting across China over the country's restrictive zero-COVID policies. Public-health experts say the policies are unsustainable, ineffective, and unnecessarily severe. Without vaccination campaigns targeting older adults, China's lockdowns may only delay a catastrophic COVID wave. Tyrone Siu/ReutersThere is no easy way forward for China, but constant 2020-style lockdowns are not the solution, according to public-health experts, who called the policies unsustainable, ineffective, and irrational. As a result, Huang thinks the zero-COVID lockdowns are completely unwarranted.

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