Hotel service

The manager of a small-town Michigan hotel is offering a free room for women looking to get abortions, particularly from states that have recently restricted or banned access. Shelley O’Brien, the manager of the Yale Hotel in Yale, Michigan, posted the offer on Facebook in May. The post offers several free nights at the hotel plus a transportation service to and from the abortion for women in states that have recently made measures to ban abortion. The offer also “extends to anybody” trying to get an abortion who may need help, which includes people from Michigan, O’Brien told the Detroit Free Press . There are not abortion services in the town of Yale, but there are some about an hour away. “This is important,” O’Brien said according to the Free Press. “This is my line. There’s no coming back from this. You start taking away the right for women to control their own bodies, and we’re done for as a civilization. I can’t stop what’s happening, but I have the resources to maybe … [Read more...] about A Michigan Hotel Wants To Help Out-Of-State Women Get Abortions

In December 2018, the late Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, announced that the 28% GST slab, which he called the “dying slab”, would be phased out, except for luxury items. India, he said, would eventually have just two slabs: 5% and a standard rate between 12% and 18% (apart from exempt items). Tragically, he passed away less than a year before fulfilling his assurances. Simplicity is not easy to achieve. Great sages, artists and designers have preached simplicity. It was the mantra of Henry David Thoreau, who influenced Mahatma Gandhi. Also Read Explained | Will India’s Goods and Services Tax rates be restructured this year? The introduction of a uniform GST was a watershed moment in India since the country’s earlier regime of taxes and cesses, both at the Centre and the States, was a big barrier to free trade and economic growth and was a cesspool of corruption. Complex and confusing However, GST is still a complicated tax regime with different slabs. It is … [Read more...] about Towards a single low tax regime

Germany’s competition regulator on Tuesday initiated a proceeding against Google and its parent company Alphabet to examine possible anti-competitive behaviour by Google Maps against rival map services providers. The probe by the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) against Google Maps is initiated under tougher abuse laws which have applied to Google’s business in Germany since January this year. Also Read: Twitter’s Edit Tweet Button Is Finally Here But Not For Everyone “We have information to suggest that Google may be restricting the combination of its own map services with third-party map services, for example when it comes to embedding Google Maps location data, the search function or Google Street View into maps not provided by Google,” Andreas Mundt, President of the FCO in a statement. “We will now examine whether this practice could allow Google to further expand its position of power regarding certain map services,” Mundt added. Under the new tougher laws, the authority … [Read more...] about Google Maps Faces New Antitrust Scrutiny, This Time In Germany

WAPITI, Wyo. — Hundreds of cars and recreational vehicles were backed up in long lines at entrances to Yellowstone National Park as it partially reopened Wednesday morning following record floods that reshaped the park’s rivers and canyons, wiped out numerous roads and left some areas famous for their wildlife viewing inaccessible, possibly for months to come. Park managers raised the gates at three of Yellowstone’s five entrances for the first time since June 13, when 10,000 visitors were ordered out after rivers across northern Wyoming and southern Montana surged over their banks following a torrent of rainfall that accelerated the spring snowmelt. Some of the premier attractions at America’s first national park will again be viewable, including Old Faithful — the legendary geyser that shoots towering bursts of steaming water almost like clockwork more than a dozen times a day. But the bears, wolves and bison that roam the wild Lamar Valley and the thermal features around … [Read more...] about Yellowstone National Park reopens after changes wrought by flood

Political party leaders, bureaucrats, celebrities and the public participated in the International Yoga Day celebrations by performing several yoga poses and posting their pictures on social media. Governor R. N. Ravi celebrated International Yoga Day at Raj Bhavan. He joined a thousand youth from universities, schools and institutions in the demonstration of various asanas and meditation. The session was held between 6.30 a.m. and 7.30 a.m. by yoga teachers from Isha Foundation and Art of Living, according to a release. Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Mano Thangaraj displayed his yoga prowess by demonstrating the ‘Peacock Pose’ (Mayurasana) and posted a picture on social media. ‘Born to Win Research Foundation Trust’ conducted 15 days of yoga challenge as a countdown to the significant day between June 6 and 21 and celebrated the day with a yoga session in the morning hours at Hotel Crowne Plaza in Alwarpet. Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection … [Read more...] about International Yoga day celebrated in T.N.

Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum , who narrowly lost to now-Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018, is facing a 21-count federal indictment for alleged fraud in connection with his campaign. Both Gillum and one of his top advisers, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, have been charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and making false statements. They’re set to appear in court Wednesday afternoon. “Between 2016 and 2019, defendants Gillum and Lettman-Hicks conspired to commit wire fraud by unlawfully soliciting and obtaining funds from various entities and individuals through false and fraudulent promises and representations that the funds would be used for a legitimate purpose,” the Justice Department said in a statement . “The Indictment further alleges the defendants used third parties to divert a portion of those funds to a company owned by Lettman-Hicks, who then fraudulently provided the funds, disguised as payroll payments, to Gillum for his personal use.” … [Read more...] about Fraud Indictment Seals Andrew Gillum’s Fall From Grace

Chamundi Hills and the Chamundeshwari Temple will be out of bounds for the general public and devotees in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the hill shrine on June 20. According to a statement from the office of Deputy Commissioner, Mysuru, entry to Chamundi Hills and the temple will be restricted from noon to 9 p.m. due to security reasons. Except for emergency services, all public and private vehicles will not be allowed to Chamundi Hills. The residents of Chamundi Hills have been advised to use their identity cards if they have to travel due to unavoidable reasons. The statement also made it clear that general public and devotees will not be able to use the steps to reach the hill-top during the period. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office, Mr. Modi will leave the Maharaja’s College ground after laying the foundation stone for various projects by road at 7.20 p.m. on June 20 for the programme at Suttur Mutt. He is scheduled to leave Suttur … [Read more...] about Chamundi Hills out of bounds from noon to 9 p.m. on Monday

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 12 BERLIN (AP) — Three consecutive summits over the next week will test Western resolve to support Ukraine and the extent of international unity as rising geopolitical tensions and economic pain cast an increasingly long shadow. On Thursday and Friday, European Union leaders will meet in Brussels to consider officially making Ukraine a candidate for membership. From Sunday to Tuesday, the Group of Seven leading economic powers will hold their annual summit in Germany. And right after that, NATO leaders will gather in Madrid, with a standoff over the membership hopes of Finland and Sweden looming large. The 27 EU nations appear on course to give Ukraine a much-needed morale boost in the face of Russia's invasion. However, prospects of NATO countries quickly breaking down Turkey's opposition to the Nordic countries' membership look … [Read more...] about 3 summits offer test of Western unity, dominated by Ukraine

There are few true American dynasties. The Rockefellers, Mellons, Astors and DuPonts come to mind. The Gettys, too, are on that list. Founded by oil baron J. Paul Getty who moved under the radar until his "outing" as the richest American by Fortune magazine in 1957, the subsequent four generations of his family have been in the spotlight navigating fields from environmentalism to fashion to business, music, digital archives, arts, LGBTQ rights and politics. With five wives, the patriarch of the dynasty, J. Paul Getty, fathered four sons who lived to adulthood, and the family tree has flowered to some 19 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great-grandchildren. Family scandals and internal squabbles such as Getty's son Gordon's (unsuccessful) seven-year court challenge over the family trust in the 1960s and the kidnapping of his eldest grandson in 1973, as well as subsequent battles with drug addiction, depression, adultery and internal squabbles over the sale of … [Read more...] about The surprising Newsom, Pelosi and Harris ties with the Getty oil dynasty

Staff at Hotel Sky in Johannesburg’s wealthy Sandton district adhere to strict COVID-19 protocols, wearing masks and physically distancing from guests as much as possible; all, that is, except Lexi, Micah and Ariel. For the three concierges couldn’t breathe germs on you even if they wanted to: they’re robots. Robot hospitality is not new – Japanese hotels have been deploying them for years and in 2015 Tokyo’s Henn’na, or ‘Strange’, hotel became the first to be fully staffed by machines. Several robot-staffed Tokyo hotels are now using them to serve guests with mild COVID-19 symptoms. But Hotel Sky, which launched this year, is the first in Africa to use automated attendants, a concept that could cause a stir in a country with one of the world’s worst jobless rates. Unemployment is at 30.8%, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address last Thursday. “It’ll never replace people, but it is going to change the space,” Paul Kelley, Hotel Sky Managing … [Read more...] about South Africa’s Johannesburg is Turning to Robot Hospitality in Times of Covid-19