Credit: j4p4n, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons If you are one of the roughly 80 million Americans who currently receive Social Security, there are several changes that take effect on January 1st of the new year that you need to be aware of. Good News for Retirees: Yes, Your Payments Are Going Up This is the best news, considering the Biden economy and rampant inflation that has eaten up about 20% of our incomes. The Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2025 is meager, at 2.5% – but as retirees know, every little bit helps. Depending on your current payments, this increase could…
Author: Team_Benjamin Franklin Institute
Credit: Photo of Cybertruck used in Trump International Hotel explosion from news conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. Courtesy of YouTube Law enforcement officials confirmed that 37-year-old former Army veteran Matthew Livelsberger, who lived in Colorado Springs, was behind the rented Cybertruck explosion at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Authorities confirmed that Livelsberger died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the explosion, which injured seven bystanders. Officials say there was no information as of Thursday connecting Livelsberger to a terrorist group. The driver of the Cybertruck was identified as Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a U.S. Army special operations soldier…
Credit: Screenshot via @JennieSTaer New York Post reporter Jennie Taer was given what appears to be unfettered access to the home of ISIS-inspired New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar, prompting shocked viewers to wonder why what should be an active crime scene was left so wide open. The video shows Taer gaining quick access to the home of a suspected terrorist, raising plenty of questions about the appropriateness and timing of media involvement in an ongoing investigation. Not to mention the law enforcement decision to allow that access when so many questions about Jabbar’s motivation and how he planned the attack…
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Refrigerators and freezers typically get their cooling power from environmentally harmful fluidsMint Images Limited/Alamy A new type of crystal could enable refrigerators and air conditioners to keep us cool without warming the planet. Refrigerators and air conditioners get their cooling power by circulating a liquid through the device, which absorbs heat and causes chilling through a cycle of evaporation and condensation. But many such liquids contribute to the greenhouse effect, causing further warming when they leak. Now, Jenny Pringle at Deakin University in Australia and her colleagues have made a climate-friendly alternative to these liquids using “plastic crystals” – crystals…
US Marine veteran Trevor Reed is on his way home after being released from Russia, where officials said he was wrongfully detained since 2019.“Today, our prayers have been answered and Trevor is safely on his way back to the United States,” his family said in a statement.Reed’s release came as part of a prisoner swap with Russia, with the US sending back Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot sentenced in 2011 to a 20-year prison term for importing more than $100 million of cocaine.The surprise prisoner exchange was the result of long and difficult negotiations between the US and Russia, according…
Getty ImagesThe couple were recently photographed at the premiere of MrBeast’s new series Beast GamesYouTuber MrBeast has announced his engagement to girlfriend Thea Booysen.The 26-year-old revealed that he’d proposed on Christmas Day, sharing photos of the moment he went down on one knee.Mr Beast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, is the world’s most popular YouTuber with 340m subscribers. Fiancée Thea, originally from South Africa, also has her own channel, TheaBeasty, with almost 40,000 subscribers. Now living in the US, the 27-year-old also streams games on Twitch and is a published author.Allow Instagram content?This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask…
This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters hereToday’s agenda: “Terrorism” in New Orleans; shipowners switch to smaller vessels; gold set to rise higher; what to watch this year; and FT critics pick the hottest tickets of 2025Good morning, and happy new year. We start 2025 by asking more than 220 economists how growth will be affected by Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda.What’s the impact of ‘Maganomics’? While his exact plans are still unclear,…
Credit: Graywalls via Wikimedia Commons The number of homeless people in the U.S. reached the highest level recorded in 2024, as more than 770,000 people lived without housing on a single night in January, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual report. The number is an 18% increase from 2023, fueled in part by the surge of migrants illegally entering the U.S. and residing without housing in sanctuary cities, the report noted. HUD said the data snapshot, collected a year ago, no longer reflects current conditions, noting that the migrant situation has stabilized, and that Chicago and…
Michelle Buteau’s new special dropped on Netflix this Tuesday, and the comedienne had some good advice for her fellow comedian, Dave Chappelle.Chappelle received backlash from the trans community about jokes he made in his 2023 Netflix special, “Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer.”Michelle Buteau doubled down on the criticism in her own Netflix special, “Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall.”Article continues below advertisementMichelle Buteau Wants Dave Chappelle To ‘Make It Funny’MEGAAccording to Variety, Buteau wants the comedian to “make it funny” when it comes to joking about the trans community.In her Netflix special, “Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind…