America's swelling debt pile bodes ill for the the US economy, Societe Generale said. In a recent note to clients, the European Bank flagged a concerning trend that's taken hold in the US in recent years: the rise in household debt and the concurrent decline in household savings.
Television stars are paying tribute to director James Burrows following his death at age 85.
The Justice Department on Friday refused to issue a signed declaration from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche verifying that it no longer intends to pursue President Donald Trump's "Anti-Weaponization Fund." read more
The Tartan Army has been drinking a lot of beer for the World Cup, so much so that some Boston bars ran out. read more
Utah has spent the past year fighting measles outbreaks in almost every county read more
Questions swirl over Trump-linked firm given $1.7M no-bid contract to clean Reflecting Pool water before algae returned
www.independent.co.uk
... Earlier this year, a firm tied to President Donald Trump secured a no-bid contract to install a water purification system at the Reflecting Pool next to the Lincoln Memorial. Now, the deal is raising questions after algae overtook the basin just days after a multi-million-dollar refurbishment was completed, according to a new report.
The National Park Service in April sidestepped the usual competitive bidding process, awarding a $1.7 million cleaning contract to Ohio-based Greenwater Services, which had only ever been given one other federal contract.
The firm is owned by the J.J. Cafaro Investment Trust, headed by John J. Cafaro, who has contributed over $300,000 to Trump-linked political committees, The New York Times reported. He also resides next to the president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. In 2016, Trump described Cafaro, who once found himself at the center of a bribery scandal, as a "fantastic man." ...
Reflecting Pool Is Now Under Siege by a Different and More Aggressive' Form of Algae: Report
www.mediaite.com
... President Donald Trump's $14 million renovation project at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is not going well. In fact, the efforts to kill off the algae are apparently helping foster a new, even more aggressive algae, according to tests conducted by a reporter for The Atlantic.
The Atlantic decided to run its own tests on the water. Viser gathered samples from multiple areas of the Reflecting Pool, and brought them to two different scientists for testing.
"Testing reveals that efforts to suppress one algal bloom seem to be fueling another," wrote Viser, and the "workers battling against nature" in "the country's most high-profile science experiment" may actually be making things worse.
"After a week of combat," wrote Viser, "they have essentially killed off one type of algae infesting the pool, only to create the conditions for a new type to take over. And Scenedesmus, a genus of green algae nicknamed Skinny Dead Mouse' by scientists, is now flourishing," according to the tests they ran.
The original algae that showed up in the Reflecting Pool "appeared to be a blue-green cyanobacterial bloom," wrote Viser, and that type can sometimes produce neurotoxins that are dangerous for humans and animals.
One of the scientists who tested the samples was Hans W. Paerl, a professor of marine and environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Paerl examined the samples under a microscope and found "remnants of the previous bloom" of the blue-green algae, "but they were too degraded to identify," wrote Viser, and he believed this was caused, at least in part, by the hydrogen peroxide.
"The guys dealing with peroxide treatment can pat themselves on the back," said Paerl. "But it doesn't really solve the overall problem."
"What's happened is they've just switched the players. And the green algae are just taking over," Paerl explained, and this new green algae "is a pretty aggressive grower." ...
The Reflecting Pool itself was already an ideal environment for algae, Boyer said.
"If I was going to design a facility to grow algae," Boyer explained, "I would probably design a facility that had a lot of surface area and was very shallow, so you have sunlight down to the bottom. And put a lot of nutrients in it. And that's pretty much what the Reflecting Pool is. It's just a perfect facility for growing algae."
The deep blue paint that Trump had added only made it worse, wrote Viser, because it "raised the water temperature and accelerated the growth." ...
Meanwhile ...
Donald Trump's Former Greenwich Mansion Proposed To Be Demolished
patch.com
... President Donald Trump's former Greenwich property could undergo some major changes, including demolition of the current 19,786 square-foot Georgian mansion, according to documents recently submitted to the town's Planning & Zoning Commission. ...
@#7 ... indeed Pres Trump has said that Iran is entitled to having them. ...
Can you say "unconditional surrender?"
I knew you could.
President Donald J. Trump is Ending United States Participation in an Unacceptable Iran Deal (2018)
trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov
... The JCPOA failed to deal with the threat of Iran's missile program and did not include a strong enough mechanism for inspections and verification. ...
Does Pres Trump's memorandum of [mis]understanding even mention Iran's missiles?
Trump Saved This Vietnamese Real Estate Mogul's Fortune. Now They Are Opening A Golf Resort Together (2025)
www.forbes.com
... In May, Donald Trump's son Eric, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, traveled to Vietnam to unveil a new Trump-branded real estate project: the $1.5 billion Trump International Hung Yen. The sprawling project is set to feature a 5-star hotel, luxury villas and two golf courses designed by two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau on nearly 2,500 acres of land.
The groundbreaking ceremony, set in a white tent with rows of tables and plastic chairs in a field 37 miles south of the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, was much less glamorous than the sleek Middle Eastern offices Eric had visited to cut a similar deal in Qatar just three weeks earlier.
But to this Southeast Asian country and Dang Thanh Tam, the Vietnamese entrepreneur behind this deal, it is a huge win. Sandwiched between Eric and Vietnam's prime minister Pham Minh Chinh, Dang, 61, beamed for the cameras as golden confetti rained onto the stage. ...
... and, miraculously, Pres Trump's approach to tariffs on Vietnam goods seemed to have changed.
@#2 ... Nice place for a Trump Hotel and Golf Course. ...
Yeah, that may be the end goal for Pres Trump in his blockade of Cuba -- personal enrichment.
Donald Trump Told Kim Jong Un He Envisions 'Great Condos' in North Korea: 'Boy, Look at That View' (2018)
people.com
... He may be the president now, but when Donald Trump met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in Singapore, the mogul couldn't resist returning to his real estate roots.
While many Americans at home were still asleep in their beds in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Trump, 71, reflected on the historic summit " and North Korea's real estate potential " in a press conference in Singapore.
"North Korea has great beaches," Trump told reporters. "You see that whenever they're exploding cannons into the ocean. I said, Boy, look at that view. Wouldn't that make a great condo?' " ...
Scotland fans have descended on Boston for the World Cup, and bars are struggling to keep up
www.newstimes.com
... "I knew there was going to be a tsunami of Tartan Army (Scotland fans)," said Jason Waddleton, a Scotland native and owner of The Haven, a Scottish restaurant and bar in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood since 2010.[emphasis mine]
He was right. ...
World Cup fans in Boston, especially the Scots, have put a serious strain on the beer supply in a city that is accustomed to big drinking holidays in St. Patrick's Day and the Fourth of July.
The Haven, which has long served Scotland's top-selling beer, Tennent's Lager, has gone from four kegs a week to ordering 50 just for this week. Other bars have sold out of Tennent's and have tripled their orders to make sure it doesn't happen again. Sam Adams said its Boston taproom ran out of their famed Samuel Adams Boston Lager last weekend after Scottish fans descended on the city. ...
Related ...
Tartan Army devastated to leave Boston after World Cup matches, "You've been the best hosts"
www.cbsnews.com
...
Scotland may have lost 0-1 to Morocco in a World Cup match at Boston Stadium on Friday, but the thing the Tartan Army was most upset about? Leaving New England.
"The Boston people have been extra special and the police. The police have stood back and let us enjoy ourselves, and it's been fantastic," said Tartan Army member Raymond Hadden.
Scots said they were "gutted" to leave Massachusetts, which has welcomed them with open arms. The Tartan Army has brought kilts, bagpipes, and even temporary changes to public drinking laws in Boston.
There is no doubt that the Scots have left their mark. They have even drunk bars out of beer, placed cones on top of statues, and brought cheer to the entire region.
"Love you guys, love this place. Brilliant. You've been the best hosts," said Paul Morton from Edinburgh. ...
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