Month: December 2023

Strike Halts Eurostar Channel Tunnel Service Between London and Europe
21
Dec
Avatar photo
By William Lee
New miscellaneous

Strike Halts Eurostar Channel Tunnel Service Between London and Europe

Rail traffic under the English Channel was gradually returning to normal on Thursday after the end of an unexpected walkout by railway workers that had blocked the Channel Tunnel, stranding passengers and causing several hours of travel chaos just days before Christmas.Clément Beaune, France’s transportation minister, announced at 7:30 p.m. in Paris that the Channel Tunnel closure had been lifted. Mr. Beaune had previously called the blockage “unacceptable.”“Traffic can resume,” Mr. Beaune said on social media. “I salute the spirit of responsibility of all those involved.”Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train line that runs under the English Channel, said that traffic…
Read More
Americans Are Signing Up for Obamacare in Record Numbers
21
Dec
Avatar photo
By William Lee
Health

Americans Are Signing Up for Obamacare in Record Numbers

Why It Matters: The Affordable Care Act is expanding its reach.Despite a recent warning from former President Donald J. Trump, the front-runner in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, that he was “seriously looking at alternatives” to the Affordable Care Act, the latest surge in marketplace enrollment is a testament to the law’s enduring power.Legislation passed earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic increased federal subsidies for people buying plans, lowering the costs for many Americans. The Biden administration also lengthened the sign-up period and increased advertising for the program and funding for so-called navigators who help people enroll.“More and…
Read More
Football conspiracy theories: Are we in a ‘golden age’ of fan paranoia?
21
Dec
Avatar photo
By William Lee
Sports

Football conspiracy theories: Are we in a ‘golden age’ of fan paranoia?

One of the most eye-catching bios on X, or Twitter as we all know it, belonged to a sports writer with one of the UK’s biggest national newspapers. It was plain and simple and boiled down to five words: “Biased against your football club.”Which is true. If you’ve followed football for any length of time, then you know that every arm of the media is out to get the club you support. You should see The Athletic’s morning meetings where we plot against the teams we most want to stitch up (all of them, obviously). Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t…
Read More
New Jersey Deli Scheme Leads to Securities Fraud Guilty Plea
21
Dec
Avatar photo
By William Lee
Technology

New Jersey Deli Scheme Leads to Securities Fraud Guilty Plea

A man involved in a brazen plot to manipulate the stock price of a New Jersey deli’s parent company pleaded guilty to securities fraud on Wednesday.James T. Patten, 64, of North Carolina, admitted to orchestrating a series of misleading trades in an apparent bid to enrich himself and two co-defendants in U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J.Mr. Patten faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million for securities fraud. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and…
Read More
U.S. and Europe Eye Russian Assets to Aid Ukraine as Funding Dries Up
21
Dec
Avatar photo
By William Lee
Business

U.S. and Europe Eye Russian Assets to Aid Ukraine as Funding Dries Up

The Biden administration is quietly signaling new support for seizing more than $300 billion in Russian central bank assets stashed in Western nations, and has begun urgent discussions with allies about using the funds to aid Ukraine’s war effort at a moment when financial support is waning, according to senior American and European officials.Until recently, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen had argued that without action by Congress, seizing the funds was “not something that is legally permissible in the United States.” There has also been concern among some top American officials that nations around the world would hesitate to keep…
Read More
Ukraine Aid Bill Delayed as Border Talks Drag On
20
Dec
Avatar photo
By William Lee
New miscellaneous

Ukraine Aid Bill Delayed as Border Talks Drag On

The prospects for passing legislation to speed military aid to Ukraine this year are fading, as Republicans balk at striking a quick deal on immigration policy changes they have demanded in exchange for allowing the bill to move forward.After a weekend of intensive bipartisan border talks yielded progress but no breakthrough, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, acknowledged on Monday that negotiators were still far from completing a deal.“It’s going to take some more time to get it done,” he said on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon, laying out plans for the week that…
Read More