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A potential showdown could begin on Monday as Congress reconvenes and is expected to take up the issue of extending long-term unemployment benefits.
Roughly 1.3 million Americans were left in economic uncertainty on December 28 when Congress failed to extend long-term jobless benefits for those out of work for more than 26 weeks, an act John Nichols described as “cruelty for the sake of cruelty” and what Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said was also “bad economics.”
In his weekly address on Saturday, President Obama urged Republicans in Congress to extend unemployment insurance.
Senate Democrats are hoping to get the support of five Republicans needed in order to reach the 60 votes they required to advance the legislation, though even if it passes that chamber it will face a battle in the House
“Just a few days after Christmas, more than one million of our fellow Americans lost a vital economic lifeline – the temporary insurance that helps folks make ends meet while they look for a job. Republicans in Congress went home for the holidays and let that lifeline expire. And for many of their constituents who are unemployed through no fault of their own, that decision will leave them with no income at all,” Obama said in his address.
“What’s more, it actually slows down the economy for all of us. If folks can’t pay their bills or buy the basics, like food and clothes, local businesses take a hit and hire fewer workers. That’s why the independent Congressional Budget Office says that unless Congress restores this insurance, we’ll feel a drag on our economic growth this year. And after our businesses created more than two million new jobs last year, that’s a self-inflicted wound we don’t need.”
“So when Congress comes back to work this week, their first order of business should be making this right,” Obama added.
That provididng this “vital economic lifeline” helps all of us is something many others have sought to emphasize.
The Nation‘s George Zornick wrote last week:
A statement from Sen. Sanders office added, “The CBO also projected a 0.2 percent drop in the nation’s gross domestic product unless the benefits are extended.”
“Nobody wins when we leave people looking for work out in the cold.”
—Amy Traub, Demos“Emergency UI has one of the largest economic bangs for the buck,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told In Plain Sight, because by his calculations, for every dollar received in those benefits, $1.49 goes back into the economy.
“Nobody wins when we leave people looking for work out in the cold,” Amy Traub, a senior policy analyst at advocacy group Demos, also told In Plain Sight. “It hurts the economy when local businesses can’t rely on basic spending… It strains the private safety net when food banks and charities have to serve more people.”
“Individuals that are receiving unemployment benefits are sometimes just above the threshold to receive food stamps,” food bank director Ron Pringle told NPR, “so after those unemployment benefits were cut, then our local [Department of Social Services] officers … started seeing such an increase in individuals coming and applying for food stamps.”
Democracy Now!‘s Amy Goodman wrote in her most recent column:
But in contrast to those dealt austerity and forced to the economic brink, Robert Reich notes, “2013 marked one of the biggest redistributions in recent American history. It was a redistribution upward, from average working people to the owners of America.”
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Yuki Tsunoda enjoyed his first outing in an F1 car on Wednesday, the Japanese F2 driver completing a day of testing at Imola with AlphaTauri that proved more physical than expected.
Tsunoda who is in line for a graduation to F1 with AlphaTauri next season was entrusted with a 2018-spec car that he put through its paces while putting 352 kms under his belt.
The 20-year-old rookie enjoyed his outing but admitted the task of driving an F1 car in anger was physically more demanding compared to his usual F2 ride.
“It was easier for the driving, but also harder physically,” said Tsunoda. “I expected it to be a little bit less hard physically, especially on the neck. Because driving in Formula 2, I don’t feel much on my neck, and my neck is pretty strong.
“After I drove a Formula 1 car today, I felt it pretty hard, especially in the braking zone and the braking performance. The braking power is more than I expected. I need a lot of training until maybe the next session and next event to drive a Formula 1 car and prepare.”
©AlphaTauri
The Japanese young gun was calm and composed when he slotted himself into the Toro Rosso STR13, hardly impressed by the prospect of driving an F1 car for th very first time.
“Nothing special to be honest,” he said as he described his initial impression. “I might feel ‘oh, I’m in a Formula 1 car in a few minutes”, but not much difference in leaving the pitlane between an F1 car and a Formula 2.
“It just felt normal, but it did feel special when the mechanics were giving the signal to remove the tyres from the blankets.
“That was really cool, I’ve only ever seen it in games. But I always wanted to see it in real life and see how it feels like. That felt a bit special.”
But out on the track, Tsunoda said the power of the Honda engine was clearly a big boost compared to his F2 car.
“After I put the throttle, I initially feel the big power from the engine which I don’t feel much in Formula 2,” he added. “I think that power is more than I expected, and that was, even in the rain, it was really, really big performance for the initial struggle.
“Even in rainy conditions, I think it was more [performance] than I felt in Formula 2 dry conditions. That was the biggest surprise for today.”
©AlphaTauri
During his run, the young charger – who will head into the final two rounds of the FIA F2 Championship at Sakhir sitting third in the standings – noted the difficulties in managing the various switches and settings on his steering wheel in the heat of the action.
“Easy to remember, but hard to react quickly while driving,” Tsunoda said. “Whenever I heard from the engineer to change something in the first session, I struggled to react quickly and change the button.
“I’d have to look at the steering wheel or slow down to change the setting but, by the end, the practice on the Red Bull simulator helped to get used to it.
“By the end of the session, it was consistently faster. Then my laptimes in the race simulation were consistent, despite making it loads of changes every lap.”
Read also: Renault juniors wrap up Bahrain four-day F1 test
Tsunoda could take part with AlphaTauri in an FP2 at Bahrain, but team boss Franz Tost confirmed the charger’s presence at the post-season young driver’s test in Abu Dhabi.
“We had a very productive first test here in Imola with Yuki Tsunoda and we were able to complete 352km,” Tost said.
“It was a bit damp in the morning, so we started the day on full wet tyres. Even so, Yuki got immediately familiar with the car, which means that when we changed to the dry tyres he improved his lap times straight away and it was quite impressive.
“After the lunch break we continued on with new sets of tyres and he improved further, showing that he was feeling more comfortable in the car, lap by lap.
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“Yuki gave valuable technical feedback regarding the behaviour of the car, which was in line with what we expected.
“In his last run, he did a race simulation and he was very consistent, which is clear evidence he had everything under control.
“We are looking forward to his next test in Abu Dhabi, when he will be doing the young driver test for Scuderia AlphaTauri.”
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
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Rio Ferdinand believes Hakim Ziyech will prove to be the best of the raft of players that joined Chelsea in the summer.
The Blues spent over £200million on some of Europe’s top talent, including the arrivals of German stars Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
READ MORE: The key stats from Europe’s top five leagues so far
But neither has had the immediate impact of Ziyech, who after suffering an injury in the pre-season friendly against Brighton in August, has had to wait for his chance to impress.
The Moroccan impressed on his full debut for Chelsea in the 4-0 win over Krasnodar in the Champions League, before being named Man of the Match as he scored and assisted in the 3-0 win over Burnley on Saturday.
And Ferdinand believes of all of Chelsea’s recruits this summer, it’s Ziyech who can be the game-changer for Lampard this season.
“I’m sure at home he’s [Lampard] had a bit of anxiety about wanting to make sure their front players, the ones he’s brought in, play well. That’s pressure,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
“Yes, he’s had a chequebook to be able to throw about. He’s gone out there, he’s executed and got players in but then the pressure mounts. Will the players do it?
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“I think Ziyech, out of all of them, has been the one he’s wanted to bring back most because he brings you that little bit of difference. He brings you that little bit of guile. Havertz has got it but Ziyech is a player.
“I saw him at Stamford Bridge last season destroy Chelsea, I saw him in the Champions League many times last season.
“He’s the person who always looking for that little pass, that little bit of difference, he plays the hard pass, the risky pass that gets you the big reward.
“I’m sure the likes of Havertz, Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham, they are going to want to play with someone like him because he will put chances on a plate.
“Yes, he was Man of the Match at the weekend and Frank waxed lyrical about him after the game, saying he was so pleased to have him back because he gives you something different in the team.
“Chelsea are sixth in the league now after a bit of a stuttering start. They look like a team who are starting to find their feet.
“New signings always take time but Frank is obviously drilling them well on the training field and they are starting to click.
“A 3-0 win away at Burnley is not to be sniffed at.”
There are no Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City representatives in our rundown of the top ten players of the season. Nor Manchester United, of course, but Jay Rodriguez gets in?!
Paul Ince has slammed Manchester United’s recruitment and scouting system, questioning why they signed Odion Ighalo and Edinson Cavani over Raul Jimenez.
United’s left their summer transfer business late, with Cavani among a number of deadline day signings after Donny van de Beek was the only significant addition beforehand.
MEDIAWATCH: ‘Naive’ Klopp soars as Solskjaer ‘forced to apologise’
But neither Cavani or Van de Beek have featured significantly for United so far this season and Ince is sceptical as to whether the Uruguayan will ever make a meaningful contribution.
The former United midfielder claims his former club should instead have targeted Raul Jimenez: a proven Premier League goalscorer.
He told Ladbrokes: “There are so many players out there who could have come into that Man United team. You look at Thomas Partey, Raul Jimenez. Last season United needed to bring in a striker and they go and get Odion Ighalo from China. What was that about?
“Go and spend £40m on Jimenez. He’s a proven striker, a scorer. You know, and then they go and get Edinson Cavani who will hardly play.
“You’ve got to look at the structure, the recruitment, the scouting system and think ‘what are they looking at?’ There’s a lot of good players out there, top, top players. Go and get these players. But they haven’t.”
There are no Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City representatives in our rundown of the top ten players of the season. Nor Manchester United, of course, but Jay Rodriguez gets in?!
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Paul Ince believes Manchester United “panicked” when they appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their permanent manager and claims his former club no longer have the same “presence”.
Solskjaer – despite United’s excellent form in the Champions League – has come under severe pressure this season with his side languishing in fifteenth place in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have just seven points after six games, losing three of their first four at Old Trafford this season.
READ MORE: The key stats from Europe’s top five leagues so far
And Ince claims they have lost the fear factor they once had and the United board made a mistake by rushing into the decision to appoint Solksjaer as the permanent boss.
“They’ve been inconsistent for a while now – even before Ole took over,” said the former United midfielder told Ladbrokes.
“Then they went on that great run and he got the job. It was hard not to give him the job after that run. I do think the board panicked though.
“All the fans were singing his name, ordering the club to give him the job and they did. I think they should’ve waited until the end of the season. Let him have it as interim manager until the end of the season then see who’s out there, who the best man is for the job.
“I’m not saying Ole’s not the best man for the job, and getting that team last season into third place was a great achievement. But I look at United now compared to when I played.
“We had a presence. Teams were frightened of us. We already had teams beat before we walked out onto the pitch. Whether it was home or away, teams were frightened of Manchester United. I don’t see that now.
“Teams look at them and think they can take points from the game. We saw it against Arsenal, where United were woeful. We’ve seen Crystal Palace do it. Something’s not quite right.”
There are no Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City representatives in our rundown of the top ten players of the season. Nor Manchester United, of course, but Jay Rodriguez gets in?!
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Even in the era of Amazon.com and the e-book, which have forced giant book-selling retail stores such as Borders to shutter their doors, underdog booksellers and local independent bookstores who offer a more nuanced approach to book sales are actually on the rise, the Washington Post reports Sunday.
“We are a lot like Mark Twain: The rumors of our death are a little bit exaggerated,” said Oren Teicher, chief executive of the American Booksellers Association, which represents independent bookstores. “We have been counted out for a very long time.”
According to the ABA, its membership has grown 6.4 percent in 2013, following an increase in independent book sales by 8 percent in 2012, which maintained that pace throughout the following year.
More and more independent bookstores are popping up across the U.S., thriving by providing hand-selected and unique reads, not to mention the physical experience of holding a good book that many readers say cannot be replaced by electronic devices.
As The Washington Post reports:
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It is also the charming atmosphere as well as the physicality of the book-shopping experience that many shoppers say cannot be replaced by online shopping.
“We need intimate, small places like this that care about the books they pick,” said Lisa Solomon, a shopper at Frederick, Maryland’s Curious Iguana bookstore, told the Washington Post. “This isn’t just a bookstore. It’s more than that.”
The Washington Post continues:
While digital books sales remain high, according to the Codex Group, which regularly surveys readers, more and more people are pairing digital reading with store bought, traditionally-bound books. Roughly 64 percent of those polled in the U.S. pair both print and digital reading equally.
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Jamal al-Jamal, the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic, died Wednesday after an explosion went off in his Prague residence.
“There has been a detonation of a so far unidentified explosive mixture,” police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said. “The ambassador was … taken to hospital with serious injuries.”
Al-Jamal died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
The cause of the explosion is not yet known and Czech officials said it may have been the result of an accident.
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Reuters reports:
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As Congress decides this week whether to re-institute emergency jobless benefits for millions of Americans and closes in on negotiations for a Farm Bill that could see billions of dollars cut out of food stamp programs, renowned activist and intellectual Noam Chomsky summed up the state of American politics in an interview Thursday in two words: “pure savagery.”
“The refusal to provide very minimal living standards to people who are caught in this monstrosity — that’s just pure savagery.” –Noam Chomsky
“The refusal to provide very minimal living standards to people who are caught in this monstrosity — that’s just pure savagery,” Chomsky said during an interview with HuffPost Live. “There’s no other word for it.”
The Washington Post reports that current Farm Bill negotiations are calling for the elimination of roughly $9 billion in funding for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade, “according to several aides familiar with the negotiations who are not authorized to speak publicly about the details.”
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The changes would decrease assistance for at least 800,000 households, with cuts of up to $90 per month. “That’s the last week of groceries for the month,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) told the Washington Post.
The GOP-controlled House had originally called for $40 billion in cuts and the Democratic-led Senate had originally called for $4 billion.
The negotiation, expected to wrap up by next week, arrives two months after U.S. lawmakers allowed a separate stimulus boost to SNAP to expire, cutting a universal $5 billion in funding that gouged food assistance for 47 million food stamp recipients, 49 percent of whom are children.
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Meanwhile, last month Congress let expire emergency long-term jobless benefits for 1.3 million Americans, a “lifeline” for many who have been looking for jobs for an extended period of time and depended on those benefits to get by.
On Tuesday, the Senate just barely passed a vote to move ahead on a bill that would restore those jobless benefits. But even if it the actual bill passes in the Senate, it will then head to the Republican-led House of Representatives, where it is likely to face strong opposition.
“Inequality has been a very serious problem for a very long time,” Chomsky said. “Inequality now is at a level not seen at least since the 1920s…maybe further back. That is very severe.”
Any growth in the last recent years has gone to the top 2% of the population, Chomsky said, adding that a large part of the population is now living below the poverty line while at the very top of the spectrum, profits are booming for the wealthy.
However, today’s congressional roadblocks to public service programs, that many say are essential for those in need in the United States, have “nothing to do with bad apples in Congress,” Chomsky told HuffPost Live. “These are deep structural problems having to do with, in effect, the neoliberal assault on the population, not just of the United States but of the world, that’s taken place in the past generation. There are areas that have escaped, but it’s pretty broad.”
Chomsky added:
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The capacity for both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 15 will be capped at 20,000 people.
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In an interview with Tokyo Sports, new NJPW President Takami Obari said that a limit of 20,000 people would be set for both nights. This is due to COVID-19 concerns. The Tokyo Dome ususally carries a capactiy of 50,000.
The company announced last week that they would once again run Wrestle Kingdom on two nights: on their usual January 4 date as well as the following day on January 5. Last year’s shows drew 40,008 and 30,063 respectively.
Obari, formerly CEO of NJPW of America, took over for Harold Meij as New Japan President after Meij resigned in September. Obari officially took over on October 23.
The next big show for NJPW takes place on November 7 with Power Struggle. The final major tour for NJPW prior to Wrestle Kingdom will follow on November 15 with two tournaments running at the same time, World Tag League 2020 and The Best of the Super Juniors 27. That tour will finish on December 11.
Renee Paquette, formerly known as WWE’s Renee Young, announced a release date for her forthcoming cookbook today.
“Messy In The Kitchen: My Guide to Eating Deliciously, Hosting Fabulously, and Drinking Copiously” will be available on May 18, 2021. It was made available for pre-order today on Amazon.
Paquette took to her Instagram account today and shared some of the process of bringing the book to life:
“The love, attention, focus, and butter that went into making this cookbook was such an insane experience,” she wrote.
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“As a first time author, and merely a home cook, I respect the hell out of the process of making a book. This is the first project in a VERY long time that’s MINE. My writing, my ideas, my recipes. This project comes from my heart, and it means so much to me! I can’t wait to see it in your homes and see you guys cooking up all of these delicious recipes (yes, poutine) or hey- you might even just enjoy the sassy, swear word filled pages, the wine consumed, or just the photos. Thanks anyone that adds to cart. Hopefully we can all get together soon in person and celebrate!”
Messy In The Kitchen will contain more than 60 recipes for meals and cocktails. The pre-order page describes the book as “A cookbook for quirky home cooks looking to impress friends and family with a fancy meal, delicious cocktails, and intoxicating conversation.”
Paquette also wrote on Twitter today:
“Holy shit!!! I can’t even believe this is a real thing. I legit have tears in my eyes… So much love and work and endless cooking and re-testing of recipes, but the pre-order is available for my cookbook Messy In The Kitchen. Follow your dreams, y’all”
Paquette revealed on her Instagram account on July 1 that she had handed off the manuscript for the then-untitled cookbook to her publisher. On an appearance on WWE’s The Bump on August 26, Paquette announced the book’s name and a likely Spring 2021 release date.
After a six year stint with the company, Paquette departed WWE in August. She made an appearance on Fox’s pre-show for the season premiere of SmackDown on October 16.