- Judge calls out banking industry for choosing Texas court to challenge credit card fee caps—’Venue is not a continental breakfast’ Fortune
- Texas judge transfers lawsuit over card fees to Washington, D.C. Reuters
- Biden administration would cap credit card late fees at $8, part of campaign against junk fees The Associated Press
- Texas judge transfers lawsuit over card fees to Washington, D.C AOL
- Plaintiffs in credit card late fee rule case ask Fifth Circuit to keep appeal even though the district court has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing JD Supra
Tag Archives: Choosing
Veteran Trader Says Bitcoin ‘Very, Very Clearly’ Choosing Path of Extended Bull Market – Here’s His Outlook – The Daily Hodl
- Veteran Trader Says Bitcoin ‘Very, Very Clearly’ Choosing Path of Extended Bull Market – Here’s His Outlook The Daily Hodl
- Bitcoin forgets Fed as trader eyes classic BTC price ‘liquidity hunt’ Cointelegraph
- Analyst Warns Bitcoin And Other Crypto Assets Could Crash If This Happens: ‘It Might Make A New Low’ Benzinga
- Bitcoin Price Prediction: Examining the Symmetrical Triangle Pattern and Resistance at $27,000 Cryptonews
- Is Bitcoin About To Trend Higher? Analytics Firm Santiment Says BTC Bullish Metric Flashing Green The Daily Hodl
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Choosing between US and China would result in ‘less prosperity,’ ‘more poverty’: EU Central Bank president – Fox Business
- Choosing between US and China would result in ‘less prosperity,’ ‘more poverty’: EU Central Bank president Fox Business
- Christine Lagarde says she has ‘huge confidence’ that the US won’t default on its own debt CNN
- European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on “Face the Nation” | full interview Face the Nation
- ECB’s Lagarde (weekend comments): ‘narrow path’ to navigate for global economic recovery ForexLive
- ECB’s Lagarde Says She Can’t Imagine US Will Default on Debt Yahoo Finance
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Biden delivers sermon drawing on legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King: ‘This is a time of choosing’
CNN
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Joe Biden delivered remarks Sunday from Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, becoming the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday sermon from the historic church where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as pastor until his assassination in 1968.
“You’ve been around for 136 years – I know I look like it, but I haven’t,” Biden joked, calling King one of “my only political heroes” since entering public service.
In remarks from the pulpit, the president referred to the current moment in American history “the time of choosing.”
“Are we a people who choose democracy over autocracy? You couldn’t ask that question 15 years ago, right? You would’ve thought democracy was settled – not for African Americans, but democracy as an institutional structure was settled. But it’s not, it’s not,” he said.
“We have to choose a community over chaos. Are we the people … going to choose love over hate? These are the vital questions of our time, and the reason why I’m here as your president, I believe. Dr. King’s life and legacy show us the way, and we should pay attention,” Biden said.
He offered praise for King and his legacy, noting that the civil rights pioneer “was born in a nation where segregation was a tragic fact of life.”
Biden’s visit came amid a steady drip of revelations tied to his handling of classified documents after his time as vice president. The White House has faced increasing criticism for its lack of transparency with the public over the finding of classified material at Biden’s home and his former private office. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation into the classified documents found at the two locations connected to Biden.
Biden was invited to speak Sunday by the current pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, on what would have been King’s 94th birthday. Warnock was recently elected to a full six-year term following an election in which he distanced himself from Biden on the campaign trail in Georgia, where polling showed a majority of voters disapproved of the president’s job performance.
At the church, Biden spoke about King’s legacy and a number of issues, including civil and voting rights.
“He had every reason to believe, as others in his generation did, that history had already been written, that the division be America’s destiny – but he rejected that outcome,” Biden said. “So often, when people hear about Dr. King, people think his ministry and the movement were most about the epic struggle for civil rights and voting rights. But we do well to remember that his mission was something even deeper – it was spiritual. It was moral.”
The speech also came as the president is set to make a decision about his political future with his advisers readying plans for a possible reelection bid. Biden narrowly flipped Georgia in 2020, buoyed by support from Black voters, and the state could prove critical in next year’s presidential campaign.
Ahead of Biden’s trip to Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the White House senior adviser for public engagement, and former mayor of Atlanta, called the visit “an inflection point,” as the president’s voting rights agenda remains stalled in Congress.
“If you’ve come through the East Wing, you’ve seen the pictures of Dr. King meeting with Lyndon Johnson, meeting with other civil rights leaders, hashing out voting rights in the White House – and so the fact that we are still here talking about this in 2023, I think really speaks to the fact that we need action, we need that action from Congress,” Bottoms said.
“The President has done and will continue to do all that he can do in his executive powers, but there’s only so much that he can do. We need Congress to act,” she added.
A Democratic-controlled House passed a voting rights bill in 2021, but attempts by Senate Democrats to change filibuster rules to pass the legislation were unsuccessful amid opposition from moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema has since become an independent, while continuing to caucus with Democrats, and Republicans won control of the House following the November midterm elections, further dashing hopes of finding compromise on voting rights.
Bottoms defended the administration’s handling of the voting rights issue, telling reporters Friday that the Biden White House has “done all that we can do from the executive branch,” but if there were additional steps that would further the issue, “we welcome these suggestions.”
While in Atlanta, Biden was expected to meet with members of the King family and civil rights organizations, the White House said.
King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968 at age 39.
On Monday, when the nation honors King on his eponymous holiday, Biden will deliver the keynote address during the National Action Network’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast in Washington, DC, on the invitation of Rev. Al Sharpton.
This story has been updated.
Sepp Blatter says choosing Qatar to host World Cup was ‘a mistake’ | World Cup 2022
Handing the World Cup to Qatar was a “mistake” and a “bad choice” according to the former Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who has repeated claims the decision was a result of secret political pressure.
Blatter says that the tournament was handed to the Gulf state because of the actions of the former Uefa president Michel Platini, under pressure from France’s then president, Nicolas Sarkozy.
“For me it is clear: Qatar is a mistake. The choice was bad,” Blatter told the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. “At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022. It would have been a gesture of peace if the two longstanding political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other.”
Asked why Qatar was a bad choice, Blatter made no mention of the human rights concerns that have hung over the tournament, but said: “It’s too small a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for that.”
Blatter said that Fifa’s plans were disrupted by Platini, claiming Platini was instrumental in directing four votes from European countries to Qatar, after pressure from Sarkozy.
“Thanks to the four votes of Platini and his [Uefa] team, the World Cup went to Qatar rather than the United States. It’s the truth,” Blatter said of the 14-8 voting result.
“Platini told me he had been invited to the Élysée Palace, where then French president Sarkozy had just had lunch with the Crown Prince of Qatar,” Blatter said. “Sarkozy said to Platini: ‘See what you and your colleagues from Uefa can do for Qatar when the World Cup is awarded.’ I then asked him: ‘And now?’”
According to Blatter, Platini’s response was: “‘Sepp, what would you do if your president asked you for something?’ I then told him that the question didn’t arise for me because we don’t have a president in Switzerland.”
Platini was questioned by French officials in 2019 as part of an investigation into the 2022 bidding process. The former France player acknowledges that the meeting with Sarkozy took place but denies his votes were influenced.
In 2013 he told the Guardian: “I knew Sarkozy wanted the people from Qatar to buy PSG. I understood that Sarkozy supported the candidature of Qatar. But he never asked me, or to vote for Russia [for 2018]. He knows my personality. I always vote for what is good for football. Not for myself, not for France.”
Sarkozy has previously chosen not to comment on the World Cup allegations.
Blatter, in his first interview since he and Platini were acquitted of fraud in July – although that verdict is the subject of an appeal – also struck out against his replacement at Fifa, criticising Gianni Infantino for living in Qatar in the buildup to the tournament.
The 2022 World Cup was scheduled to begin with Senegal v Netherlands on 21 November, but organisers decided it would be better for the hosts to kick off the tournament, so the Group A game was moved to Sunday.
‘I have one day less of preparation,’ Alfaro told a news conference on Tuesday. ‘We were overtaken. We were not consulted if there was any problem in bringing forward the match.’ The coach also claimed Qatar’s players have been able to train together for five months with their national championship suspended.
Ecuador’s participation in the World Cup has been clouded by controversy after Chile and Peru accused them of fielding an ineligible player in qualifying. On Tuesday, the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) ruled that Byron Castillo is eligible to play for Ecuador.
The South American side, who finished third in Conmebol qualifying, will be deducted three points in qualifying for 2026. After Cas accepted Castillo was born in Colombia and that false information about his date and place of birth had been used to get an Ecuadorian passport. Reuters
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Ecuador ‘not consulted’ over moving World Cup opener
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The Ecuador head coach, Gustavo Alfaro, has criticised the decision to bring the World Cup’s opening match between his side and hosts Qatar forward by a day, and claimed they were not consulted about the move.
The 2022 World Cup was scheduled to begin with Senegal v Netherlands on 21 November, but organisers decided it would be better for the hosts to kick off the tournament, so the Group A game was moved to Sunday.
‘I have one day less of preparation,’ Alfaro told a news conference on Tuesday. ‘We were overtaken. We were not consulted if there was any problem in bringing forward the match.’ The coach also claimed Qatar’s players have been able to train together for five months with their national championship suspended.
Ecuador’s participation in the World Cup has been clouded by controversy after Chile and Peru accused them of fielding an ineligible player in qualifying. On Tuesday, the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) ruled that Byron Castillo is eligible to play for Ecuador.
The South American side, who finished third in Conmebol qualifying, will be deducted three points in qualifying for 2026. After Cas accepted Castillo was born in Colombia and that false information about his date and place of birth had been used to get an Ecuadorian passport. Reuters
Infantino moved from Switzerland to Doha last year and Blatter suggested the move could compromise Infantino’s decisions. “What I’m wondering: why is the new Fifa president living in Qatar?” Blatter said. “He can’t be the head of the local World Cup organisation. That’s not his job. There are two organising committees for this – a local one and one from Fifa.
“The Fifa president should have the ultimate supervision. An example: there is a proposal to set up a fund for the deceased workers and the bereaved. Qatar says no. What should Fifa say if their president is in the same boat as Qatar?”
Infantino has made a declared priority of increasing transparency within Fifa since Blatter’s 40-year era at the organisation ended in several claims of corruption and the arrest of multiple Fifa officials by the FBI. Blatter, asked by Tages-Anzeiger of his opinion of Infantino, said: “He’s a disrespectful person to me.”
Fifa has been approached for comment.
Trevor Story Reportedly Choosing Among Four Teams
Free-agent shortstop Trevor Story is mulling opportunities with four teams and expects to make a decision relatively soon, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Both the Giants and Red Sox are in the mix for Story, per Heyman, who notes that the longtime Rockies shortstop is now open to a “short-term” position change, if necessary. That’s a departure from earlier in the winter, when his strong preference was to remain at shortstop. Heyman adds that Story is prioritizing signing with a win-now team.
It’s not clear which other clubs remain in the market, though the Twins and Mariners are among the clubs that have expressed interest throughout the offseason. Minnesota’s interest came to light earlier in the week, after the Twins succeeded in unloading the remainder of Josh Donaldson’s contract in a trade with the Yankees (another rumored Story suitor earlier this winter). The Twins could offer a clear everyday role at shortstop, but if Story is prioritizing a winning club, it’s a bit of a tougher sell for a 73-win Twins club — even if they’ve acquired Sonny Gray and made some other moves signaling a desire to contend in 2022.
The Mariners, meanwhile, hoped to sign Story to play second base earlier in the winter. With Story then apparently set on sticking at shortstop, the M’s acquired Eugenio Suarez alongside Jesse Winker in a deal with the Reds. Suarez and fellow offseason trade acquisition Adam Frazier appear set to man third base and second base, respectively, though ever-active Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto could always look for some further dealings to create more opportunity if he indeed covets Story.
It should be noted that while the words “short-term” don’t necessarily mean that Story is open to a short-term deal just yet. For instance, the general expectation is that Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts will opt out of the final three years of his contract following the 2022 season. Story could technically sign a long-term deal in Boston, play second base for one season, and then slide over as the everyday shortstop if an when Bogaerts departs. That’s an entirely speculative scenario, to be clear, but one that is fairly easy to envision.
As for the Giants, they’ve generally shown an aversion to long-term, nine-figure contracts. Any deal with Story, then, would either require him to take a short-term pact of require an exception to the Farhan Zaidi-led front office’s philosophy on long-term commitments. Were Story willing to change positions, he could slide in at second base in San Francisco and push Tommy La Stella into a versatile utility role. Depending on Evan Longoria’s health, Story could also conceivably spend some time at the hot corner, teaming with Brandon Crawford to form a dynamic left-side defense.
IBS: Choosing low FODMAP foods and reducing stress will deter weight gain
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder that affects the large intestine. Signs and symptoms include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhoea or constipation, or both. IBS is a chronic condition that you’ll need to manage long term but how does the condition affect weight?
Irritable bowel syndrome doesn’t cause a significant change in appetite.
However, the condition may make some people feel less hungry because of unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms such as gas, bloating, and abdominal pain after eating.
For others, IBS can increase food cravings due to stress and anxiety that interfere with normal GI functioning and digestive health.
Weight gain doesn’t directly result from IBS, but it may be associated with stress related to the condition.
Stress triggers inflammatory responses throughout the body, including in the gut.
Inflammation can affect your body’s ability to digest food properly, which can lead to uncomfortable digestive symptoms like gas, bloating, cramping, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhoea.
How to manage condition
Diets high in fruits and vegetables can support weight loss.
Choosing foods which are low in FODMAPs is key.
FODMAP is a type of carb that may trigger IBS symptoms with examples including carrots, broccoli, blueberries, and bananas.
Finding ways to help reduce your stress levels is also key for managing both IBS and weight gain.
This can include more exercise, reducing your caffeine intake and practicing calming practices such as meditation.
Saints considered every detail in choosing Jacksonville for opener, even price for Packers fans
After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the NFL forced the Saints to move a home game against the Giants to Giants Stadium. New Orleans lost 27-10. Sean Payton became the team’s head coach the following season.
After Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans last weekend, the Saints had the decision of where to play their season opener.
“We’re conscious of everything when it comes to preparing for an opponent,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said when asked about the selection process during a conference call with local reporters Wednesday. “There’s just so many variables. I don’t want to get into all of the variables. The main thing is to have a suitable place to play that both teams have access to.”
The NFL requires all games to be played in NFL stadiums because of replay communication.
With the Saints practicing at TCU in Fort Worth, their first choice was AT&T Stadium in Arlington since the Cowboys open the season in Tampa on Sept. 9. The Saints host the Packers on Sept. 12.
But the Cowboys’ home stadium is hosting a Los Bukis concert Sept. 15, ruling out their stadium.
Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayne reports the Saints considered every detail and put great thought into arriving at Jacksonville as their temporary home stadium.
All three Florida stadiums are available Sept. 12, and the Saints figured the state’s heat and humidity could give them an edge, according to Duncan. They looked up Aaron Rodgers‘ record in Florida and discovered he is 3-4 in his career with a 78.1 passer rating.
The Saints then began looking at which site would give them the closest thing to a home-field advantage, considering how well Packers fans travel.
They were concerned Tampa or Miami would serve as a potential destination location for Packers fans, according to Duncan, so they zeroed in on Jacksonville.
A staffer researched flights from Green Bay to Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa on Expedia, according to Duncan, and Jacksonville was the most expensive and presented the most challenging itinerary. That sold the Saints on TIAA Bank Field.
Packers fans still might show up en masse, but not for a lack of the Saints trying to make it as difficult as possible for them to get there from Wisconsin.
NASA Saves $1.5 Billion By Choosing SpaceX For 628 Million Kilometer Journey
SpaceX heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Falcon Heavy, lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
As the week came to an end, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) chose to award Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) with a $178 million contract to launch an observation satellite to Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa. The satellite, dubbed as Europa Clipper, was originally slated to be launched on The Boeing Company’s Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle developed exclusively for NASA use. However, due to scheduling constraints, the space agency was having second thoughts about using the SLS as early as last year, when it argued that switching to a commercial vehicle would save as much as $1.5 billion for launch and other costs for the Clipper mission.
SpaceX Wins $178 Million NASA Contract To Launch Mission To Jupiter On Its Largest Operational Rocket
SpaceX will use its Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the Europa Clipper mission in October 2024. NASA requires that the rocket chosen for the Clipper mission can deliver more than six tons of payload (the Clipper weighs 6,065 kilograms) with a Mars Earth Gravity Assist trajectory. The MEGA will provide the Clipper with some momentum as it undertakes a six-year-long journey to Jupiter’s moon.
NASA’s original estimates for the mission indicated that the Clipper would have to make no less than four gravity assists during this time. These would involve one from Earth, Mars and Venus each and provide the Clipper with the energy necessary to reach Europa, 628 million kilometers away from Earth.
However, it appears as if the Venus flyby, which is the riskiest, might be voided in this mission. While NASA’s press release for the award or its proposal requests does not mention Venus, Orbital ATK’s 48BV kick stage will likely aid the Falcon Heavy to avoid the Venus assist. The assist is dangerous due to high radiation levels in the inner Solar System, which requires shielding the spacecraft and increasing its launch mass.
The Europa Clipper’s magnetic field is illustrated by NASA.
The longer time duration for the Falcon Heavy is due to the vehicle’s thrust deficit over the SLS. SpaceX’s heavy-lift rocket is capable of generating five million pounds of thrust at liftoff. In contrast, the SLS, classified as a super-heavy-lift launch vehicle, can generate 8.4 million pounds at liftoff. The two are the only launch vehicles NASA could have considered for the Clipper mission due to the United Launch Alliance’s inability to procure engines for its rockets.
Using a commercial launch provider, now confirmed to be SpaceX, allows NASA to save up to $1.5 billion in launch costs, outlined the space agency to Congress early last year. These savings result not only from the Falcon Heavy’s reusability – SpaceX’s rocket reuses all of its first stages – but also due to reduced storage costs.
Scheduling constraints with the SLS, which is NASA’s workhorse for the Artemis program, made the availability of a rocket for the Clipper’s launch date uncertain, even though the spacecraft is projected to be ready for flight by 2023. The longer the delay for an SLS rocket, the higher the storage costs for NASA, with this being only the tip of the iceberg. This is due to the fact that if the space agency had locked itself with an SLS for the mission and a rocket was unavailable, then it would have had to pay the costs of building a new one from the ground up.
As for SpaceX, the company plans to replace both the Falco 9 and the Falcon Heavy with its Starship next-generation launch vehicle system. Starship is designed to generate more than sixteen million pounds of thrust and form the backbone of the company’s plans of conducting interplanetary missions, including those to the Martian surface.
Why Choosing Random In Fighting Games Is A Huge Flex
Last week, publisher GameMill Entertainment unveiled Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, a fighting game featuring iconic Nickelodeon characters like SpongeBob SquarePants, Nigel Thornberry, and that one dude with the toast-shaped face. Between the memes, you might see prospective players debate who’d be the strongest fighter (Patrick Star, obviously) and who they plan on maining (also Patrick Star), even this far out from release. I say such debate is needless.
The right answer is no answer at all.
Read More: Nickelodeon Fighting Game Devs Have High Hopes, Competitive Dreams
All-Star Brawl sounds and looks like a legit Smash clone, one with potentially better online functionality than Nintendo’s fighting game. If you, playing as a randomly selected All Stars character, go up against someone fighting as their “main”—a.k.a., the person they’re most accustomed to playing as—you’ve instantly inured yourself to loss. Choosing random also telegraphs a level of self-assuredness only present in players who really know their shit.
Sure, you might technically “lose” a particular match after choosing a random fighter, but you can always chalk that loss up to an imbalanced match-up. Maybe the fickle whims of fate assign you a fighter you’ve mastered. More likely, they’ve stuck you with one you’re woefully unfamiliar with—or have never played before. C’mon, how is that a balanced measure of skill? The game was an uneven playing field; the scales were tipped against you from the jump.
Meanwhile, winning means you get to say you’ve nabbed glory against the odds. Your opponent had the pick of the whole lot, selected the fighter they’re (probably) best at, and still lost—against someone who had no say in the matter as to who they fought as.
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In other words, it’s a win-win scenario, at least for you, chooser of “random.”
I’ve learned this lesson the hard way, mostly via five iterations and hundreds if not thousands of hours of Super Smash Bros., Nintendo’s long-running platform fighting game. One guy in our Smash group considers it a point of personal pride to be an effective brawler with every character on the roster. When we meet other Smash players at bars or parties, this will inevitably come up.
“Who’s your main?” people will ask.
“No one,” he’ll say with the dead-eyed confidence of someone who knows he’ll win. “Everyone,” he’ll add with a shrug. “Random.”
It’s maddening.
Periodically, while we’re choosing fighters, he’ll move his cursor over to the “random” tile. Everyone will then sigh and move their cursors over, too. To do otherwise would result in us decried as cowards. Any wins don’t really count. Any losses count double. We know the rules.
On the flip side, playing under such conditions has been a years-long boot camp that’s honed me into a far better player than I’d be if I stuck with Yoshi or Roy or the L-Man for every match. Look, I’m not gonna stand on some pedestal and claim I’m now great—or even merely good—with every single Smash fighter. But, at this point, I’m passably decent with the 912-character roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Basically, if you and I both squared off and chose our “best” fighters, you might win. But if we both agreed to let the game choose for us? Well, that’s another story.
Wanna put money on it?