Official presidential candidates

US President Joe Biden attends a working lunch with other G7 leaders to discuss shaping the global economy at the Yoga Pavilion, Schloss Elmau in Kuren, Germany, June 26, 2022. (Kenny Holston/Pool via REUTERS) WASHINGTON — The United States aims to raise $200 billion in private and public funds over five years to fund needed infrastructure in developing countries under a G7 initiative aimed at countering China’s multitrillion-dollar Belt and Road project, the White House said on Sunday. US President Joe Biden will unveil the plans, flanked by other Group of Seven leaders, some of whom have already unveiled their own separate initiatives, at their annual gathering being held this year at Schloss Elmau in southern Germany. Increasingly worried about China, G7 leaders first floated plans for the project last year, and are formally launching it now under a fresh title, “Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment” while dropping the moniker “Build Back Better World” … [Read more...] about US to raise $200 billion for G7 vs China’s Belt and Road

The outdoor apparel company Patagonia will cover bail expenses for employees arrested amid protests following the Friday Supreme Court ruling Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, according to Bloomberg. The company, which maintains a longstanding tradition of activism, previously offered to cover bail expenses for employees arrested at protests for different causes, Bloomberg reported . Patagonia released a statement Friday, saying that “training and bail for those who peacefully protest for reproductive justice” will extend to both part-time and full-time employees. Healthcare for Patagonia employees includes “a more holistic approach” that involves “supporting employees’ choices around if or when they have a child,” the company said. Healthcare plans offered include coverage for abortion care along with “travel, lodging and food” expenses for employees facing abortion restrictions. The company also said that employees receive “time off to vote” along with the … [Read more...] about Patagonia To Bail Out Employees Arrested At Pro-Abortion Protests

The judge who presided over Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s defamation trial officially entered the judgement into court record Friday, and conditions may make it costly for Heard to appeal, TMZ reported. The judge has indicated that if Heard wants to move forward with appealing the verdict , she must post bond for the $8.35 million she already owes Depp as well as an additional $621,000, according to TMZ . The nature of the 6% additional fee hasn’t been expressly explained but might be a form of interest penalty for the delay an appeal would create in the collection of the original amount that was awarded to Depp, the outlet reported. Amber Heard is now officially on the hook for $8.35 million, and she could be on the hook for even more if she appeals the defamation verdict. https://t.co/po3aL6xPGr — TMZ (@TMZ) June 24, 2022 The amount of money required to challenge the initial verdict doesn’t seem to have discouraging Heard from pursuing an appeal at this time. A … [Read more...] about REPORT: Judge Imposes $9 Million Bond On Amber Heard If She Appeals Her Case

Rep. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democratic congressman, has paid his wife and son roughly $56,000 from his campaign committee since 2019, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. His son Jeffrey has notably raked in close to $45,000 for mostly “field services” and “field operations services,” filings show, while his wife Paulette has been paid roughly $11,000 for “accounting services.” “I wouldn’t say it’s a common practice, but it does happen,” Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “It’s illegal to pay a family member anything above fair market value for their services. The practice is frowned upon because it is really difficult to determine if it is fair market value.” Democratic Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush, who has a documented history of funneling campaign dollars to family members, has paid roughly $56,000 from his principal campaign committee to his wife and ex-convict … [Read more...] about Democrat Congressman Used Campaign Funds To Pay His Wife And Ex-Con Son Thousands, Records Reveal

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin This year’s Fourth of July is set to be the top holiday weekend to travel with nearly half (46%) of summer travelers planning to vacation over Independence Day, according to Vacasa’s 2022 Summer Travel Trends report . Vacasa’s search data also revealed the following destinations as the most popular spots for 2022: Bethany Beach, DE; Alabama Gulf Coast, AL; Outer Banks, NC; Cape Cod, MA; Oregon Coast, OR. In order to impress their guests, hotels and resorts throughout the country are planning spectacular fireworks displays ranging from a “Free as a Bird” experience to a “Big Bay Boom.” Mohonk Mountain House , New Paltz, New York With its picturesque setting in the Hudson Valley and situated on a private glacial lake with views of the Catskill Mountains, this Victorian castle resort provides a one-of-a-kind mountain retreat for a Fourth of July celebration. With activities like tomahawk throwing, family … [Read more...] about Resorts To Offer Spectacular Independence Day Celebrations

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Russian forces are targeting the M-777 howitzers the United States has given to the Ukrainian army. The Russians have knocked out at least three of the 155-millimeter towed howitzers, 126 of which the United States has pledged to the Ukrainian war effort. These losses belie Ukrainian artillery’s impressive performance against tough odds. According to the best outside analysis, the Russian army has lost more artillery than the Ukrainian army as Russia’s wider war in Ukraine grinds into its fourth month. Ukrainian gunners excel at “counterbattery” fire—that is, quickly shooting back at Russian guns. “The M-777s have been absolutely lethal,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters last week. The Ukrainian army went to war with 1,800 artillery pieces—almost all of them ex-Soviet models that the army inherited following the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse. The ex-Soviet cannons mostly are 122-millimeter and … [Read more...] about The Russians Are Targeting Ukraine’s American-Made Howitzers

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The U.S. Department of Defense is a huge consumer of technology, and as a result America is home to many of the world’s biggest makers of military hardware. If you were to infer from this that Americans have a love affair with defense companies, you’d be wrong. It is a longstanding tradition in the domestic political culture to view military contractors with suspicion. That tradition is not confined to one party. During the 1920s, Republicans led the charge in labeling military suppliers like Dupont as “merchants of death.” Fifty years later, during the Vietnam War, it was Democrats who took the lead in condemning the “military-industrial complex.” The latest wrinkle in this longstanding bipartisan bias is the charge that traditional defense companies are not innovative, and that if the Pentagon wants cutting-edge technology it needs to turn to commercial companies in Austin, Boston and Silicon Valley. The … [Read more...] about U.S. Defense Companies Are World-Class Innovators. Why Doesn’t Washington Know That?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Is there a pilot shortage, or not? Depending on who you ask, you can get different answers . Flights are getting cancelled due to a lack of pilots, and small cities are losing service as a result. Over time this problem will correct itself with changes in pay, new training, and perhaps regulatory reform. None of these solutions will fix this summer, however. With strong demand for air travel both domestically and internationally, the airline industry has a challenge to make this summer work. To address this near-term challenge, airlines have started to adopt some creative tactics. Not all of these may work, but they get to the heart of the matter - finding more pilots quickly. Here are some of the best ideas that are being tried: Use Higher Pay As An Incentive Incentives work, and often monetary incentives work the best. In order to keep pilots flying and maybe not jumping to a bigger airline, some airlines are offer … [Read more...] about Five Creative Ways Airlines Are Addressing The Pilot Shortage

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Ukraine’s new American-made rocket-launchers apparently have fired their first shots at Russian forces. The first-ever documented fire-mission by the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, comes as Ukrainian troops finally pull back from the ruins of Severodonetsk, an industrial city with a pre-war population of 100,000 that was the last major free settlement east of the Donets River in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region before Kyiv ordered the retreat. The attritional battle rages on in Donbas. Ukrainian forces are reconsolidating Lysychansk, Severodonetsk’s sister city on the west bank of the Donets River. Russia’s advantage in heavy artillery so far has been the decisive factor in the Donbas campaign. Ukraine’s growing HIMARS arsenal could blunt that advantage. HIMARS is a truck-mounted, six-round launcher for 220-millimeter-diameter rockets. The rockets can fly as far as 44 miles with 200 pounds of … [Read more...] about The Ukrainians’ American-Made Rockets Blast The Russians For The First Time