The game Persona 5 was released in the United States this month and this week we’ve attained the full “Quiz Answers” from within. This game is long – extremely, super, almost-impossibly long. It can get infuriating too, if the player only wants to play a certain extra-fun part of the game. Today is the first day the entirety of the … Continue reading
This week we’re to understand* that the next Pokemon GO update will come by the end of this week. There are two possibilities for this update – one that it’s a major change for the game. The other possibility is that the major aspects of the update will be pushed back another week while this Friday’s update is made mostly … Continue reading
Destinee Mangum, one of the teenage girls at the center of a stabbing attack in Portland, Oregon, has shared an emotional message of gratitude for the men who died trying to stop a man who was harassing her.
Mangum, 16, was riding a MAX train Friday with a 17-year-old-friend who is Muslim and was wearing a hijab, according to The Oregonian, when a man later identified as Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, allegedly began verbally abusing the two girls.
Two men, Ricky John Best, 53, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, intervened on the girls’ behalf and were fatally stabbed. A third man who confronted Christian, 21-year-old Micah David-Cole Fletcher, survived the attack.
In tears, Mangum told Fox affiliate KPTV this weekend that she wanted “to say thank you to the people who put their life on the line for me, because they didn’t even know me.”
“They lost their lives because of me and my friend and the way we looked,” Mangum continued. “I just want to say thank you to them and their family, and I appreciate them, because without them we probably would be dead right now.”
Best and Namkai-Meche have received a wave of tributes from friends, family and strangers describing them as heroes for their selfless action.
“They were attacked because they did the right thing,” said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. “Their actions were brave and selfless and should serve as an example and inspiration to us all.”
Christian is known to authorities as a white supremacist and has previously been convicted of several felonies, according to the Portland Mercury. Before the attack, he was “ranting and raving,” Portland police spokesman Pete Simpson said.
A witness told KATU-TV that Christian had said to the girls, “Get off the bus, and get out of the country because you don’t pay taxes here.”
Mangum shared a similar account with KPTV, saying the man had told them to get out of the country and to “go back to Saudi Arabia.”
“He was just telling us that we basically weren’t anything and that we should kill ourselves,” she said.
She and her friend had decided to move to a different part of the train because they were scared and then strangers jumped in to stand up to their harasser, Mangum told the news station.
Christian was booked into a local jail Saturday and has been charged with offenses including two counts of aggravated murder, one of attempted murder and two counts of intimidation in the second degree.
The attack occurred shortly before the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and has drawn condemnation as the latest example of anti-Muslim hate in a political climate where Islamophobia is on the rise.
President Donald Trump was silent on the Portland incident initially, but tweeted about it Monday, noting the attacks were “unacceptable” and his prayers were with the victims.
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If you thought Jared Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump were the best hope for preserving United States’ participation in the Paris climate agreement, sorry.
There’s been lots of talk that President Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law would emerge as primary advocates for maintaining the U.S. commitment to the global agreement on addressing climate change. But not much public evidence has surfaced supporting that case. And in Monday’s lengthy New York Times piece about Kushner’s role in the White House, there’s this:
Mr. Kushner appears to be modifying his centrist stances. Instead of urging the president to keep the United States in the Paris climate accord, as he sought to months ago, he has come to believe the standards in the agreement need to be changed, a person close to him said.
Trump has delayed a decision on the Paris agreement. On Saturday he tweeted that he would make a final determination next week ― after he butted heads with European leaders over climate change last week at the G7 meeting of major industrialized democracies.
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Tiger Woods was arrested in a town outside West Palm Beach, Florida, on a DUI charge early Monday morning.
The golfer, who has been recovering from back surgery, was released just before 11 a.m. ET., a local ABC affiliate reporter shared over Twitter.
This story is developing.
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Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy and singer-actress Hayley Kiyoko are just two of the celebrities who are “celebrating themselves” by stripping down for an inclusive Pride month effort.
Online underwear retailer MeUndies unveiled their new rainbow polka dot designs May 23 with a colorful spread featuring Kenworthy and Kiyoko for its “Celebrate Yourself” campaign. But the photo series ― which also features musician Big Freedia and YouTube personalities B. Scott, Stevie Boebi and Ally Hills ― isn’t just an excuse to spot the stars in their skivvies. For every pair of underwear sold, MeUndies will donate $1 to the Los Angeles LGBT Center to help expand its youth center.
Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Chief Marketing Officer Jim Key told HuffPost that underwear was “a very appropriate choice” for their new campaign, which was launched to coincide with Pride month in June. “We lift, support and comfort people of all types and ages,” he quipped, noting that much like MeUndies’ polka dot designs, “we’re bold and courageous.”
Given the current political climate, Key said, funding for homeless LGBTQ youth services is more at risk than ever, which is one of the many reasons he’s grateful for the MeUndies campaign. It’s a particularly pertinent issue in Los Angeles, where about 40 percent of the homeless youth population in the city identify as LGBTQ, he said.
Kiyoko, who made waves in 2015 with her “queer girl love” anthem, “Girls Like Girls,” said the campaign really spoke to her as an artist who has never shied away from exploring sexuality in her work. “In the artist community, we do have a responsibility to use our platform to spread messages of hope and acceptance,” she said. “Whether or not someone decides to do that is their choice, but I’ve always used my art as a way to bring people together ― if you could call that political.”
Kenworthy echoed those sentiments. For him, the campaign wasn’t so much of a political gesture as it was one more way for him to express “that I am proud of who I am.”
“It’s about trying to just embrace the things that make me different and the things that make me unique, and not allow myself to be dictated by other people’s expectations,” the Olympian, who came out as gay in a 2015 ESPN Magazine cover story, told HuffPost. The best ways to “celebrate yourself,” he explained, weren’t necessarily grand gestures. “I think on the most stripped back, grassroots level, the way that I celebrate myself is just being proud of who I am walking down the street holding my boyfriend’s hand, living my life unapologetically.”
Check out more photos from the MeUndies “Celebrate Yourself” campaign for the Los Angeles LGBT Center below.
Find ways to celebrate Pride by subscribing to the Queer Voices newsletter.
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While some psychologists champion the merit of participation trophies in sports, baseball great Bryce Harper declared he is no fan of them.
The Washington Nationals star told a group of youth baseball players on Saturday that awards for merely playing the game are a no-win situation.
“As much as they might tell you, ‘Oh, it’s OK you guys lost,’ but no, Johnny, no. No participation trophies, OK? First place only,” he said in a Q&A with youngsters from the D.C. area.
Here’s the exchange:
Harper got laughter and applause, so apparently the message hit home somehow.
At age 24, Harper is already a four-time All-Star and winner of the National League MVP award and is set to earn more than $21 million next season.
He, for one, probably has no use for a participation trophy.
H/T Yahoo
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Ever since we went and saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, my daughter is all about Baby Groot. He’s apparently the most adorable thing ever. If you feel the same way, you might want this Baby Groot wooden cutting board.
This 15″ x 11.25″ cutting board looks like Baby Groot’s head. They should have put a tiny body on it, it would have been awesomer then. At least it won’t cram growing twigs up your nose.
You can’t put it in the dishwasher or in the microwave, but what sort of lunatic microwaves cutting boards anyhow. I’m never sure if you should cut chicken on wooden things with pores unless you want salmonella, because that is how you get salmonella. Get one on ThinkGeek for $19.99 (USD).
The average hourly pay for food service workers and cashiers in the United States at McDonald’s is $8.50. At Starbucks, employees earn an average of $9.43 an hour, but shift supervisors can make over $12 an hour. Full-time associates at Walmart are paid $13.38 an hour. Customer service associates earn $13.54 an hour at Costco and as much as $13.78 an hour at Home Depot. However, in many school district in the United States, substitute teachers, in charge of helping to educate our children, are paid less than $13 an hour and have barely any qualifications. This is part of the trend to outsource and privatize what goes on in our schools, something being promoted by the Trump/DeVos education regime, and something that in no way counts as “education.”
A major player in the fast-food teacher industry is Kelly Educational Staffing. In Florida, it is active in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa-Saint Petersburg. It also provides substitute teachers in Massachusetts,
According to the Kelly website, requirements to be a Kelly substitute are minimal: an associate’s degree or 60 college credits, the ability to read and write in English, “passing” criminal background checks and a drug test, “completion of an informational session on substitute teaching to be conducted on the day of your interview,” “successful completion of a behavioral interview and a mandatory orientation conducted by Kelly Educational Staffing,” and the willingness to work for next to nothing without any benefits. The online training program takes two hours and includes a quiz.
People with these “qualifications” are then expected to provide “instruction,” encourage “student progress,” and manage the “learning environment.” That means the “implementation” of “existing lesson plans in a manner that ensures the integrity of academic time, and motivates students to learn and participate” and instructing “students regarding a variety of classroom topics/courses of instruction, as determined by the School District’s lesson plan and in accordance with Kelly Services policy.”
In some school districts, including Washington D.C., there is a high mid-year turnover of teachers in poorly performing inner-city minority schools. At one DC high school 25 percent of the teaching staff now consists of unprepared low paid substitute teachers. An 11th grade Algebra student explained the impact to the Washington Post. Since his regular teacher left in January, “No one is teaching. It’s been like that for months now. We don’t do anything, so I leave and go to my biology class or English class and go do other work.”
If the Trump/DeVos education budget or some semblance of it passes Congress, the future for public education in the United States and the teaching profession look dim. The proposed budget calls for a $9.2 billion, or 13.5 percent, spending cut to education. Title I funding to high-poverty schools would not be adjusted to take into account rising costs. Money for teacher training, class-size reduction (which promotes literacy), and for after-school programs would be reduced or eliminated. Medicaid funds that help school districts assist students with special needs would be cut. Other federal funds will be diverted from public schools to charters, private, and religious schools. The federal government would stop subsidizing interest on student loans and phase out public service loan forgiveness so fewer people could afford to become teachers. You can sign a petition opposing this cuts at this link.
If the Trump/DeVos education budget is approved look for a lot more fast-food teachers in the future.
Question: Would Trump accept teachers with these “qualifications” at the fancy private schools attended by his son and grandchild?
Follow Alan Singer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReecesPieces8
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WASHINGTON ― Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, has asked federal immigration and investment regulators to review the conduct of a Chinese company partnered with the family business of White House adviser Jared Kushner.
“Recent press reports indicate that Qiaowai has touted its relationship with the current administration as a guarantee that potential EB-5 [investor visa] investors will receive lawful permanent residence in return for a no-risk investment in One Journal Square,” a New Jersey luxury development being built by the Kushner family, Grassley wrote in a May 24 letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton.
He cited investigations by Reuters and The New York Times that revealed multiple instances of the firm guaranteeing a U.S. green card to Chinese investors in return for investment in the Kushner project. “They said the president would make sure it came through,” a technology executive told the Times. “They said there was no chance it could fail.”
Kushner stepped down from Kushner Companies earlier this year. But Qiaowai appeared to spend months celebrating its apparent link to the White House and President Donald Trump; a recent presentation featuring Kushner’s sister mentioned the connection, according to The Washington Post. And while Kushner is managing China relations as part of his broad portfolio in the administration, he stands to eventually profit from the New Jersey development, for which his family hopes to raise $150 million in Chinese money, and other family enterprises because of his investments in them.
Ethics experts have repeatedly warned that Trump and other members of his administration have flouted long-standing norms intended to avoid conflicts of interest.
A longtime critic of the EB-5 program, which gives investors an opportunity to receive a green card if they pour $500,000 into the U.S., Grassley is seeking Trump administration answers to a range of questions about the Qiaowai approach.
In his letter, the senator asked for responses by June 7 to inquiries about how the Chinese firm and a U.S.-based contractor called the U.S. Immigration Fund have previously been regulated and whether their actions can be legally punished.
“It appears the information regarding green card and no-risk guarantees violates our immigration laws,” Grassley wrote.
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