Demovictory9
Demovictory9's JournalWinner of largest powerball in history criticized for extravagant purchases..
Some say he will be broke in 5 years..others say " enjoy". 🤔
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Edwin Castro, 31, scooped up $2.04 billion in a California lottery last year and became an overnight billionaire, adding $997.6 million to his account after coming forward to collect the lump sum payment.
He has since invested in real estate, buying two multimillion-dollar mansions in California in just one month — a $25.5 million estate in the Hollywood Hills, shortly followed by a $4 million mansion with views of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Now, Castro has splurged on his most expensive property yet, adding a $47 million mansion in Bel Air to the mix.
The new home, set on a 4700-square-metre block, has seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.
But financial planners have, classing the three homes — as well as a vintage Porsche 911 he’s been seen driving to and from the bank — as “terrible” purchases.
Financial advisers typically recommend that winners collect their large lottery payouts through annual payments, rather than the lump sump Castro sprung for.
Financial advisers also recommend that lottery winners or anyone else coming into a large amount of wealth consult with a financial planner, tax lawyer, or other expert to create a plan, according to Fortune.
“Don’t make any visible life changes. Don’t quit your job, don’t go out and buy a Ferrari, don’t buy a mansion,” Emily Irwin, managing director of advice and planning at Wells Fargo’s investing and wealth management division, told the publication.
“Maybe you have student loans you want to pay off, that makes sense. But try to avoid that mega-purchase.”
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/buying/billionaire-powerball-winner-edwin-castros-terrible-buy-73-million-la-mansion/news-story/3e1598ff5ca37a9f0685143ed2a5eb46
Culver City (CA) buys gun store, just two blocks from school, to stop another from taking its place
Culver City buys gun store, just two blocks from school, to stop another from taking its place
The Martin B. Retting gun store was grandfathered in when Culver City banned firearm dealers near schools, and it could have transferred those rights to a new owner.
It seemed like an unlikely, but effective, resolution: To keep another gun store from opening up in Culver City and replacing one that was shutting down, city officials decided to buy the controversial shop itself.
The Martin B. Retting gun store along Washington Boulevard, emblazoned with a huge mural of a rifle and the word “GUNS” painted in oversize letters, had operated in the city for 65 years. In recent years, it drew mounting objections from some parents and residents in light of a spate of school shootings across the country and its proximity to an elementary school, even after the city clamped down on firearms dealers near schools. Grandfathered in and allowed to continue operating, it could have transferred those rights to a new owner.
With a $6.5-million price tag, the cost was “on the high end” of commercial real estate in the area, city staffers said during the Sept. 11 meeting where the City Council voted to buy the store, but parents and gun control advocates argued the price was worth it to stop another gun store from taking its place.
“It’s high, but it is an investment in the safety of this community and our kids,” said Megan Oddsen, a member of Culver 878, a group of residents and parents who advocate for local gun safety measures.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-26/culver-city-buys-martin-b-retting-gun-store
Vacuum containing hundreds of hornets stolen from Philadelphia beekeeper's truck
Summary.. beekeeper put vac in his truck for the night..new truck want yet marked beekeeper yet to give thieves hint of what is in truck
Vac contains several queen hornets too.
Beekeeper posted on Facebook.." looking forward to unboxing video"
John Fetterman shaved and he's speaking better. Cue the conspiracy theories.
Why those who believe John Fetterman has a body double are so sure about it
The difficulty he might have finding a body double means nothing to those convinced the real John Fetterman is somewhere in hiding.
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Despite this uniqueness, there are some claiming that the Fetterman we see at the U.S. Capitol is a fake and that the real Fetterman is employing a body double. The conspiracy appears to be a continuation of earlier discourse about Fetterman’s speech issues following his stroke now that his speech in interviews is much improved. Fetterman also took the daring step of changing his facial hair. Even such mundane things can become a recipe for conspiracies in such a highly politicized environment.
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Fetterman addressed the body double rumors with a joke Wednesday, calling those rumors true. “I’m Senator Guy Incognito,” he said, referring to a Simpsons character who looks exactly like Homer. And on his campaign website, he’s selling a T-shirt with the words “John Fetterman’s Body Double.”
Why do people believe and spread conspiracies like this?
A common assertion among people who believe such stories is that they’re “critical freethinkers” and nonconformists, unlike the “sheeple” who blindly follow “official” narratives and the “lamestream media.” And, indeed, there is some research showing that conspiracy believers tend to have a strong need for uniqueness and are drawn to theories that are supported by a minority of respondents.
Interestingly, however, the empirical evidence also indicates that conspiracy believers tend not to be very strong critical thinkers after all. Instead, research shows that conspiracy theories flourish primarily among people who tend to strongly rely on their intuitions and gut feelings and — consequently — do not engage in much analytical or reflective thought. In fact, one of the stronger predictors of conspiracy belief is lack of commitment to the idea that beliefs ought to change according to evidence. Rather, conspiracists tend to hold that some beliefs are too important or even sacred to truly question.
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Despite conspiracy believers’ longing to feel unique, they largely believe that most people agree with even the extremely uncommon and “fringe” beliefs they hold. This is, at least partially, a consequence of overconfidence: The possibility that their beliefs are wrong is so remote that it’s hard for them to imagine others disagreeing.
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/john-fetterman-body-double-conspiracy-theory-rcna111423
Sudden Closure of Art Institutes Leaves 1,700 Students Adrift
Sudden Closure of Art Institutes Leaves 1,700 Students AdriftThe for-profit network of colleges is closing its final eight campuses several years after it shuttered most of them.
Hundreds of students and faculty members were left stunned on Friday by the news that the Art Institutes, a system of for-profit colleges, would close its eight remaining campuses across the United States by the end of this month.
The system had suffered from low enrollment since the coronavirus pandemic began. Previous challenges included a $95 million settlement after fraud allegations in 2015 and a loss of accreditation that led to the shuttering of nearly 20 other locations in 2018.
When Hannah Grabhorn, 21, a sophomore studying games, art and design at the Art Institute of Atlanta, received an email on Friday that said her school was closing, she looked for more answers online. But every page on the school’s website referred her back to the same notice. The email said that “the Art Institutes do not anticipate any further communication.”
Grabhorn said she and her classmates were informed of the closure one day after final exams for the school’s summer quarter.
“All of us were crying,” she said.
The Department of Education said 1,700 students would be affected by the decision. In addition to Atlanta, campuses are closing in Austin, Texas; Dallas; Houston; Miami; San Antonio; Tampa, Fla.; and Virginia Beach.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/arts/design/art-institutes-closures.html
A new kind of housing in sf..rent a pod for $700 a month
Techies are paying $700 a month for tiny bed 'pods' in downtown San Francisco
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/rent-bed-pods-downtown-techies-18388110.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight
To rent in the Bay Area is to compromise; many of us share apartments and go without wishlist amenities to keep costs down. But techies in downtown San Francisco are taking it a few steps further.
Startup founders are paying $700 a month to stay in bed “pods” — tiny, semi-open boxes that only fit a single twin mattress and stand just 4 feet tall — according to media reports this week. The pods, made of steel and wood with a blackout curtain at one end, are arranged in a two-high, 14-long grid; residents share five bathrooms and a few common spaces, but don’t have a full kitchen or any laundry machines.
Brownstone, the startup that designed the pods and runs the bed rentals, is still setting up the space in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, CEO James Stallworth told SFGATE. The company brought in its first customers in June, he said, adding to the firm’s footprint across the Bay Area — Brownstone rents out pods in Palo Alto ($800 a month), San Jose ($650), and Bakersfield ($500).
Anti "illegal" Fox news is sympathetic towards an undocumented Tennessee family facing deportation
I wonder why faux is sympathetic to THIS family. 
?ve=1&tl=1
Tennessee family faces deportation 15 years after fleeing Germany to homeschool kids: A 'well-founded' fear
Attorney Kevin Boden said the family wants to stay in the US and that the Biden administration and federal agencies can make that happen
Uwe and Hannelore Romeike face a devastating predicament as their family faces deportation after 15 years of making a home for themselves in East Tennessee.
"They did not tell us anything. We don't really know why [this is happening]. We wonder ourselves because we can't understand," Uwe Romeike told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ on Sunday.
Originally from Germany, the Romeike family fled to the U.S. after being fined for homeschooling their children in their mother country. Five years later, their asylum claim was denied, with authorities claiming they weren't persecuted.
"The goal in Germany is for an open, pluralistic society," the Justice Department wrote in a legal brief at the time. "Teaching tolerance to children of all backgrounds helps to develop the ability to interact as a fully functioning citizen in Germany."
Their stay was indefinite, however, until now.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/tennessee-family-deportation-15-years-fleeing-germany-homeschool-kids-well-founded-fear
Poor repub senator Tim Scott..another article about his lack of a wife
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/us/politics/tim-scott-girlfriend-marriage-2024.htmlTim Scott Is Running for President, and He’s Unmarried. What’s the Issue?
A spouse brings advantages to the campaign trail, as a built-in surrogate and cheerleader. But interviews with voters show they have bigger concerns than a candidate’s love life.
During a private meeting with evangelical faith leaders in Iowa this summer, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina was asked about an issue he would prefer not to discuss: his love life.
Mr. Scott, 57, has put his faith and commitment to conservative family values at the center of his campaign for president, which at that point was in its earliest weeks. None of the pastors in attendance questioned his faith. But at least one was curious about his lack of a wife and children.
“You’re unmarried, and you want to lead the country. But we can’t even see how you’ve led a family. Help me out with that,” Michael Demastus, a pastor in Iowa who has met with the senator multiple times, recalled asking during the meeting. He meant the question, he added, “not in a condemning way — just genuinely want to know a little bit more.”
Mr. Scott told the group that he was in a relationship with a woman whom he was serious about but not yet ready to introduce to the public, according to two accounts of the meeting.
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A longtime bachelor, Mr. Scott is hardly a rarity in America, where more people than ever report being single. But a presidential candidate’s marital status is nearly impossible to avoid on the campaign trail. Some of Mr. Scott’s rivals, like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Vivek Ramaswamy, have given their spouses and young children starring roles as they work to win over those evangelical voters for whom traditional family values are top of mind. The frequent domestic scenes offer a stark contrast with the race’s front-runner, former President Donald J. Trump, who is twice-divorced and facing four criminal indictments, one involving hush-money payments to a porn star. His wife, Melania Trump, has been largely absent.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/us/politics/tim-scott-girlfriend-marriage-2024.html
As Muslims' status as political punching bag fades, some are fighting against LGBTQ+ acceptance
In battles against LGBTQ+ acceptance, it is often white evangelicals pushing for book bans or boycotts over beer brands or bathing suits. In this case, Muslims are leading the fight.
The controversy in an overwhelmingly blue Washington, D.C., suburb highlights a shift. For decades, Muslims have been focused on fighting back against accusations of terrorism. But now, in clashes in left-leaning, diverse areas from the coasts to the heartland, they’re speaking out about what they see as intolerance of their faith.
“The school system believes it is being inclusive toward LGBTQ parents and students,” said Zainab Chaudry, the Maryland director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national civil rights group that put out calls for rallies over the Maryland books controversy. “But in doing that, it is not being inclusive toward another set of parents and students.”
Chaudry said the conflict is just the tip of a movement “growing among Muslims in many parts of America.”
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It all bewilders some who say they supported Muslims when they were under attack from the far-right and now feel betrayed.
“When they wanted to broadcast their call to prayer from mosques, we defended them. When they were being hit with hate crimes, we stood by them, and we opened our arms when they were refugees,” said Russ Gordon, who was kicked off the Hamtramck Human Relations Commission this year after he defied the flag ban. “We live in America, but this feels like a theocracy.”
Muslims were once reliable allies in a coalition of racial, religious and sexual minorities courted by the left. The umbrella grew after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and hit a stride during the Trump presidency as policies and pronouncements from the White House targeted each group with regularity.
Now, some of the 3.5-million followers of Islam in the U.S. are speaking out on topics where their conservative take on the faith more closely aligns with Republican politics.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-09-25/lgbtq-muslims-evangelical-republican-christians
Ryanair CEO hit in face with pies
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