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☆ Hailey Bieber reveals what she fears about having kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Hailey Bieber is sharing more about her thoughts on growing her family with husband Justin Bieber. In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the model and entrepreneur reportedly said she would like to have kids but worries about the public scrutiny the couple faces. “It’s enough that people say things about my husband or my friends,” she said. “I can’t imagine having to confront people saying things about a child.”She and Justin Bieber got engaged in July 2018. Despite her concerns, Hailey Bieber said she isn’t going to let fear keep her from welcoming children.

☆ What Happens if Joe Biden Legally Challenges the Debt Ceiling - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Robert Hockett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After all, the only real alternative for Mr. McCarthy would be to go to court and seek to enjoin the president’s decision to continue to pay obligations — legal obligations already legislatively incurred. The impact of going to court to argue for defaulting on the nation’s debt, let alone the political optics for Mr. McCarthy, would be very risky. But it’s hard to see this availing them of anything other than impotent spectacle, further cementing their public image as unserious, especially if the president formally repudiates the debt ceiling now or this month rather than waiting until June. But suppose the Republicans take the president to court nonetheless. The president’s multiple arguments would be compelling, and the markets, in any case, are already pricing in worries of this sort.

It also highlights Russian frustration at failing to complete the capture of Bakhmut after more than nine months of costly, intense battle. ANGRY TIRADEWhat looked real, however, was Prigozhin's fury at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. "If Putin wants him to be in combat, he'll force him in one way or another to do so." Marten said its involvement in the battle for Bakhmut, including fighters recruited from Russian prisons, had allowed Putin to avoid declaring a full-scale mobilization. Whatever its immediate intentions around Bakhmut, Wagner is likely to remain a significant player in the war, given Prigozhin's personal ambitions and determination to stay in the limelight.

☆ A Piece of Work: WSJ Comic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This new comic strip from The Wall Street Journal looks at life in the workplace today from the offices of Bluff Marketing.

☆ California and other Western states lead in unhealthy levels of air pollution, report shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The "State of the Air" report found that nearly 120 million people, more than a third of the population, lived in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution between 2019 and 2021. The report assigned letter grades reflecting the number of days that air quality in a specific area reached unhealthy levels on the Air Quality Index. Exposure to unhealthy levels of ozone air pollution makes breathing difficult for more people across the U.S. than any other single pollutant, the report said. Wildfires in the region were a major factor in the increasing number of days and places with unhealthy levels of particle pollution, the report found. The report used data from air-quality monitors managed by state, local and tribal air pollution control authorities in counties across the country.

If a nuclear attack were headed toward the US, residents would have fewer than 30 minutes to prepare. Russian Presidential Press Service/APA nuclear attack remains highly unlikely, but it's not out of the question, experts say. Redlener said the best way to learn of an impending nuclear attack would probably be TV or radio. Survivors of a nuclear attack would have about 15 minutes before sandlike radioactive particles, known as nuclear fallout, reached the ground. A sign for a nuclear fallout shelter on a residential block in Brooklyn.

☆ Inside a shake-up at the world's 'most feared law firm'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Casey Sullivan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

It's been a tumultuous period for Quinn and the storied law firm he built over the past 37 years — now the world's largest litigation firm with hourly rates that can be north of $2,000. But behind the scenes, a shift at QE has been the talk of elite law firm circles. Indeed, the firm – known as a singular, even freewheeling, institution that brands itself as the "#1 Most Feared Law Firm in the World" — may appear to be less in the image of its founder as a generational shift brings changes. "We all thought it was important that the world understands this is not a one generation law firm." One former firm partner in California says he believes Quinn's inner circle generally got better deals.

☆ Putin plans to store tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin said Saturday on state-sponsored media that he planned to store nuclear weapons in Belarus. Putin told state television station Russia-1 he plans to build a new storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the ally's soil, set to be completed by July 1, CNN reported. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries," Reuters reported Putin said, adding: "We agreed that we will do the same - without violating our obligations, I emphasize, without violating our international obligations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons." In September, Putin made a veiled reference to nuclear weapons while vowing to defend Russia's "territorial integrity," emphasizing that his words were "not a bluff." "Russia had always been very proud that it had no nuclear weapons outside its territory.

[1/2] A backyard pool is left hanging on a cliffside after torrential rain brought havoc on the beachfront town of San Clemente, California, U.S. March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Mike BlakeSAN CLEMENTE, California, March 16 (Reuters) - As heavy rains soaked into already sodden ground in California, mudslides in the beachfront community of San Clemente forced evacuations of blufftop homes this week and in one case left a swimming pool dangling partway off the cliff edge. This week, the 11th atmospheric river of the season dumped more torrential rain, causing power outages and risking flooding from the already saturated soils and swollen streams. Although the rain had finally tapered off in the area by Thursday, forecasters have warned that another storm could be incoming next week. Reporting by Mike Blake, Writing by Rosalba O'Brien Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ January's CPI suggests the stock market is far from the bottom and we're set to see a repeat of the 2001 market crash, says a top-ranked stock picker. He shares 3 investment options that are risk-free
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On an annual basis, services inflation was up 7.2%, the worst year-over-year increase since 1982, he noted. "To get services inflation down, you really actually need to create demand destruction. But Johnson believes central bank policies will further impact the stock market heading into the rest of the year. This will put more pressure on the stock market throughout the year, creating a steeper-than-anticipated decline. He believes the stock market will repeat the pattern witnessed in 2000 and 2001.

☆ One of Jeff Bezos' secrets to success: The boss should always talk last in meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

If you ever find yourself taking a meeting with Jeff Bezos, don't expect the billionaire Amazon founder to speak first. There's a reason Bezos thinks managers should always speak last in business meetings, for example. "I hold a lot of meetings, and I would talk first in a meeting, and [Bezos] goes, 'No, no, no. Similarly, Bezos recommends keeping the meetings themselves as short as possible once the reading period is over, Sanchez said: "Keep meetings under an hour, if you can." Bezos' meeting method is favored by other tech executives, too.

☆ Stock, Bond and Crypto Investors Call Fed’s Bluff on Interest Rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Akane Otani | Nick Timiraos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The market’s big comeback in January is indicative of one thing: Investors don’t believe the Federal Reserve is going to keep interest rates high for long. Stock and bond prices have jumped to start the year. Particularly risky assets have run up even faster.

The Act states the Fed should conduct monetary policy "so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates." On that basis, the average core PCE inflation rate since 2010 is exactly 2.0% - even after the recent scare and with the monthly rate ebbing again fast. At 1.25%, real 10-year yields - measured by market inflation expectations rather than prevailing inflation - are far above sub-zero post-pandemic troughs and are also some of the highest in over a decade. And hence the cat and mouse game between Fedspeak and market pricing - rather than a material change to investors' assumption that the Fed is nearly done. U.S. Fed has missed the mark on inflationThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

☆ Airbnb's 13 most wish-listed properties in the world for 2023—including an $18 million home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Airbnb's most wish-listed new global listings for 2023Modern Smoky Mts Getaway Cabin - Gatlinburg, TennesseeThis cabin is nestled in the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, United States. Luxury Glass Tiny House - Warren, VermontLocated in the heart of the Green Mountains in Vermont, this tiny home is just 200 square feet. AirbnbThis tiny home, with a jaw-dropping view, sits in the heart of the Green Mountains in Vermont. AirbnbThis cabin at Highlands Hideaway in Blue Ridge, Georgia, has three bedrooms, a bunk room, and three full bathrooms. AirbnbThis tiny home in Hawson, South Australia, Australia, was built between 2018 and 2019.

☆ All 5 escaped Missouri inmates back in custody after three days on the run
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dennis-Romero-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Dennis Romero | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

All five inmates who escaped from a Missouri jail this week were in custody as of Saturday morning, the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department said. The five escaped from St. Francois County Detention Center in Farmington early Tuesday night, they said. All of the escapees were being held based on felony allegations, the sheriff’s department said. St. Francois County Detention Center in Farmington, Mo. The others were found hours later in Ohio, the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday.

WASHINGTON — Many House Republicans are furious with a band of far-right rebels who they say are holding the party hostage by repeatedly rejecting its nominee for speaker. The unwillingness of most House Republicans to cut a deal with Democrats to pick a speaker weakens their leverage in the showdown with a group of 20 right-wing lawmakers who want to defeat Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who is backed by 90% of the GOP caucus. As Bacon and other McCarthy allies dangle the possibility of a bipartisan speaker to secure the votes to make him speaker, the anti-McCarthy faction is calling their bluff. Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., who has voted against McCarthy all six times, said he doesn’t believe any Republicans would go around the House Freedom Caucus and team up with Democrats to pick a speaker. Democrats open door to consensus speakerSome Democrats say they’re open to negotiating a consensus speaker.

In Nebraska, the 2022 borrowing limit for FHA mortgages is $420,680 in all but three counties. Conforming mortgages and FHA mortgages both have borrowing limits. Nebraska borrowing limits in 2023 for conforming and FHA mortgages by countyCounty Conforming mortgage limit (single-family home) FHA mortgage limit (single-family home) Adams County $726,200 $472,030 Antelope County $726,200 $472,030 Arthur County $726,200 $472,030 Banner County $726,200 $472,030 Blaine County $726,200 $472,030 Boone County $726,200 $472,030 Box Butte County $726,200 $472,030 Boyd County $726,200 $472,030 Brown County $726,200 $472,030 Buffalo County $726,200 $472,030 Burt County $726,200 $472,030 Butler County $726,200 $472,030 Cass County $726,200 $472,030 Cedar County $726,200 $472,030 Chase County $726,200 $472,030 Cherry County $726,200 $472,030 Cheyenne County $726,200 $472,030 Clay County $726,200 $472,030 Colfax County $726,200 $472,030 Cuming County $726,200 $472,030 Custer County $726,200 $472,030 Dakota County $726,200 $472,030 Dawes County $726,200 $472,030 Dawson County $726,200 $472,030 Deuel County $726,200 $472,030 Dixon County $726,200 $472,030 Dodge County $726,200 $472,030 Douglas County $726,200 $472,030 Dundy county $726,200 $472,030 Fillmore County $726,200 $472,030 Franklin County $726,200 $472,030 Frontier County $726,200 $472,030 Furnas County $726,200 $472,030 Gage County $726,200 $472,030 Garden County $726,200 $472,030 Garfield County $726,200 $472,030 Gosper County $726,200 $472,030 Grant County $726,200 $472,030 Greeley County $726,200 $472,030 Hall County $726,200 $472,030 Hamilton County $726,200 $472,030 Harlan County $726,200 $472,030 Hayes County $726,200 $472,030 Hitchcock County $726,200 $472,030 Holt County $726,200 $472,030 Hooker County $726,200 $472,030 Howard County $726,200 $472,030 Jefferson County $726,200 $472,030 Johnson County $726,200 $472,030 Kearney County $726,200 $472,030 Keith County $726,200 $472,030 Keye Paha County $726,200 $472,030 Kimball County $726,200 $472,030 Knox County $726,200 $472,030 Lancaster County $726,200 $472,030 Lincoln County $726,200 $472,030 Logan County $726,200 $472,030 Loup County $726,200 $472,030 McPherson County $726,200 $472,030 Madison County $726,200 $472,030 Merrick County $726,200 $472,030 Morrill County $726,200 $472,030 Nance County $726,200 $472,030 Nemaha County $726,200 $472,030 Nuckolls County $726,200 $472,030 Otoe County $726,200 $472,030 Pawnee County $726,200 $472,030 Perkins County $726,200 $472,030 Phelps County $726,200 $472,030 Pierce County $726,200 $472,030 Platte County $726,200 $472,030 Polk County $726,200 $472,030 Red Willow County $726,200 $472,030 Richardson County $726,200 $472,030 Rock County $726,200 $472,030 Saline County $726,200 $472,030 Sarpy County $726,200 $472,030 Saunders County $726,200 $472,030 Scotts Bluff County $726,200 $472,030 Seward County $726,200 $472,030 Sheridan County $726,200 $472,030 Sherman County $726,200 $472,030 Sioux County $726,200 $472,030 Stanton County $726,200 $472,030 Thayer County $726,200 $472,030 Thomas County $726,200 $472,030 Thurston County $726,200 $472,030 Valley County $726,200 $472,030 Washington County $726,200 $472,030 Wayne County $726,200 $472,030 Webster County $726,200 $472,030 Wheeler County $726,200 $472,030 York County $726,200 $472,030Note: You'll need to get a jumbo loan if you want to borrow more than $726,200, regardless of which county you hope to reside in. Depending on the lender and term length, you might be able to lock in a lower rate for a conforming mortgage. If you plan to buy a more expensive home in Nebraska, jumbo loans let you borrow more money than the conforming mortgage limit.

☆ The Ukraine war rages on without a clear end in sight. Here are 6 ways the conflict with Russia could play out
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

As Russia's war in Ukraine continues, there does not appear to be a clear end in sight. Russian victoryWhen it began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia's goal was to take over the country completely. Rather than taking more territory, Russia's objectives in the current stage of war seem to be to weaken Ukraine's resources, economy, and army. Nuclear war and/or NATO interventionPutin has repeatedly made nuclear threats since he began the invasion of Ukraine and, in September, claimed that it was "not a bluff." One senior official previously said that a Russian nuclear strike could trigger a "physical response" from NATO itself.

☆ Self-made billionaire: 4 poker skills can help you become highly successful
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"I could have been learning things by sitting at the poker table and watching hands." The realization began when Just sat down to learn poker with her teen daughter, Juliette, a few years ago. H/O: Poker PowerIt paved the way for Just's newest venture, Poker Power, a virtual workshop aimed at teaching poker to women of all ages. The game can foster the skills women need to advance their careers and succeed in the workplace, she says. More than 120 million people in the world play poker, but only 10% of them are women, Power Poker estimates.

But since mid-May, when rates futures markets began to bet outright that the Fed would cut rates in the second half of next year, markets have stabilized. Rates futures have raised the 2023 implied fed funds terminal rate by 400 bps to around 5% and the Fed has raised its 'dot plot' forecasts, in a broadly lockstep move. But since mid-May the implied 2023 terminal rate has been brought forward to the first half of the year, and rate cuts have been priced into the second half. Yet policymakers' 2023 economic growth forecast has slumped to 0.5% - it was 2.25% in March - and they now see unemployment topping 4.5%. Powell's comments are pushing Wall Street lower on Thursday, but interest rate markets largely have dismissed them and continue to price in more than 50 bps of rate cuts next year.

☆ The Best Architecture of 2022: From Symphonic to Serene
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Michael J. Lewis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The gestation of an elephant is nearly two years and that of a building even longer. And so the cultural and economic upheavals of our past two years have not yet begun to express themselves in architecture. The notable buildings of 2022 are a time capsule from a world that had never heard of Covid-19, George Floyd , and a good many other things. The museum sits on a steep bluff overlooking the sea to the west, a setting where a little light goes a long way. Here the discreetly placed windows and skylights bring in just enough sunshine, giving you the physical sense of the atmosphere in which the art was created.

☆ Georgia runoff loss for Herschel Walker shows Trump is nothing by an eyeroll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( John Hart | John Hart Is The Co-Founder Of Solutions | The Former Communications Director For U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn. He Tweets At | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

If Republicans decide they are tired of losing elections they should be winning, Herschel Walker’s loss to Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s Senate runoff election should mark the definitive and unequivocal end of the Trump era. Republicans have grown complacent and comfortable on a bed of final straws with Trump, but Walker’s loss should wake them up from their slumber. Walker’s loss showed once again that Trump is the GOP’s Bridge to Nowhere, continuing the poor performance of Trump-anointed candidates in the midterms. If Trump wants to start a new party with his dinner companion, white supremacist Nick Fuentes, he’d be doing the Republican Party (and the republic) a favor. Republicans have grown complacent and comfortable on a bed of final straws with Trump, but Walker’s loss should wake them up from their slumber.

☆ Ellen Pompeo says she 'manifested' the $6.4 million Malibu beach house she couldn't afford in the early years of 'Grey's Anatomy'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ellen Pompeo's casting as Dr. Meredith Grey in 2005 would eventually make her one of the highest-paid women on television. She currently makes $550,000 an episode, according to Forbes, and will be leaving "Grey's Anatomy" next year after 19 seasons. "I knew I couldn't afford it, but I didn't tell anyone that," she told Architectural Digest. At the time of the purchase, Pompeo had secured her spot as one of the highest-paid actors. As of 2017, Pompeo was bringing in an additional $6 million a year from her share of the syndication profits too.

☆ McCarthy's struggle to lock down House Speaker roils GOP caucus, delays key committee assignments
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A spokesman for McCarthy did not respond to questions from CNBC about the committee vote schedule. Instead, both sides have dug in over the past week, telling reporters they're ready to take the fight all the way to the House floor on Jan. 3. "Oh yeah, I'll take the speaker's fight to the floor," McCarthy told reporters in the Capitol recently. "The goal was never to embarrass Kevin McCarthy on the [House] floor, no one wants that," she said. It also prompted McCarthy to issue a long statement condemning her prior remarks, which he said "do not represent the values or beliefs of House Republicans."

☆ A Century Later, Historians Revisit a Texas Massacre
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Adolfo Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

On Jan. 28, 1918, 15 Mexican boys and men from a small Texas border town were rousted in the middle of the night, led to a bluff and shot to death at close range. The Texas Rangers, local ranchers and soldiers who rounded up the group said they went to question the residents of Porvenir, a ranching and farming community on the far southwestern edge of the state, because they believed they were involved in an earlier raid on nearby Brite Ranch. They claimed the 15 had died in a shootout.

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