Super mario party invitations printable free

The pandemic brought its fair share of challenges for Americans, including straining household budgets. From spiking unemployment at the start of the pandemic to rising costs this the past year, Memphians tell me every day about the increasing difficulties of stretching their dollars and taking care of their families. Yet even as our challenges have grown, the ultra-wealthy have maintained their jet-setting lifestyles. In fact, billionaires have expanded their fortunes tremendously since the pandemic began. Here in Tennessee, the state's 10 billionaires grew $21 billion , or 85 percent, richer over the first two years of the pandemic. But while billionaires increased their wealth, we were the ones footing the tax bill. Thanks to a skewed tax code that showers tax breaks on those with the greatest means, the average billionaire pays a lower tax rate than middle-class workers . The ultra-wealthy meticulously evade taxes by living off the growing value of their assets, which are … [Read more...] about We can make the super rich pay their fair share | Opinion

A new 21st century foreign policy is being written in the background of the battle lines being drawn in the Indo-Pacific. The ‘Great Game’ now stretches from Afghanistan to this vast area of immense geopolitical significance. The Indo-Pacific is marked by a precarious geometry of fault-lines and historic strategic mistrust. It has become the centre of China’s efforts to establish its pre-eminence as the dominant, indeed, sole superpower. What is the geographic scope of the Indo-Pacific? It is generally agreed that it extends from the east coast of Africa to the west coast of the Americas. Drawing precise geographic borderlines is not important since the Indo-Pacific is primarily a geostrategic concept. It is the core and nerve centre of international geopolitics and a new global power game. It is encircled by major population centres. Eight of the top twenty economies are situated here, giving it immense geo-economic importance. New threats and challenges to the existing world … [Read more...] about The New Great Game: Free World Needs Quad-Like Alliances to Confront Chinese Threats

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In the Brazilian Amazon these days, it's nearly impossible to run for office talking up the environment. More common is a scene like this: A candidate for Congress parades a helicopter — the symbol of illegal gold mining — painted with the Brazilian flag, through the streets of the Amazon city of Boa Vista. He defends a gold rush that has devastated Indigenous territories and contaminated rivers. In a neighboring state an Indigenous candidate stops wearing green clothing in public out of fear of violence. Like all Brazilians, residents of the vast Amazon region will elect governors and lawmakers in October’s general elections. But as the campaign takes the streets, few candidates or voters are talking about current record-breaking deforestation rates or other environmental problems. Instead, many politicians vie for who has a bolder … [Read more...] about Little talk of rainforest protection in the Brazilian Amazon

I’m standing in my tiny kitchen with blue slime all over my hands watching Paris Hilton strut around on screen in her much larger kitchen. She’s wearing couture — an extravagant pink dress with a huge bow on the bum — and I’m wearing Madewell, but we’re both in the same predicament. “My sliv gloves!” she moans, trying in vain to scrub neon-colored marshmallow off her pink lacy fingerless gloves (“sliv” is short for “sliving,” Hilton’s newest catchphrase that is a combination of “slaying” and “living your best life”). This is “Cooking with Paris,” the celebrity heiress’s latest endeavor: a Netflix cooking show built on the premise that she’s absolutely no culinary wizard, but hey, she wants to learn. On the show, Hilton invites friends like Kim Kardashian and Demi Lovato over to her house to make a meal while dressed to the nines. In each episode, three things are guaranteed: Hilton will wear an impractical outfit, she will say “sliving” too many times and she will be … [Read more...] about ‘Eggy disappointment’: I made the recipes from Paris Hilton’s Netflix show ‘Cooking with Paris’

Whether it takes place in a fairytale castle or if it's a Back to the Future - themed event, everyone has a different idea of what the perfect wedding should look like. However, it's also common courtesy for guests to keep their opinions to themselves, no matter how ridiculous the event may be. A man has been bashed on Reddit for his "dig" at his sister's wedding, delivered when the bride was already in tears. The post has received over 5,000 upvotes and more than 1,400 comments, many from Redditors berating the man for his "nasty attitude." Big weddings are back According to The Knot's most recent Real Weddings Study , big weddings are back for 2022. The wedding planning website surveyed 15,000 couples who got married in 2021 and found that 94 percent of couples were able to wed with no COVID-related hiccups. About 98 percent of couples planning to wed this year are feeling confident it will occur on the date planned, although 81 percent intend to implement health … [Read more...] about Brother slammed for “awful” comment to crying sister on her wedding day

Outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) hinted at a possible presidential run in her concession speech Tuesday evening in Jackson, Wyoming. Critics laughed, but while Cheney might have no hope of winning, she could play the part of spoiler. Cheney, contemplating her primary loss, compared herself to Abraham Lincoln: “The great and original champion of our party, Abraham Lincoln, was defeated in elections for the Senate and the House before he won the most important election of all. Lincoln ultimately prevailed, he saved our Union and he defined our obligation as Americans for all of history.” The difference, of course, is that Lincoln built a positive reputation as an opponent of the expansion of slavery, even as he lost narrow races. He was not, as Cheney is, seen as the handmaiden of a ruling party determined to crush its political opposition. But the analogy suggests that Cheney is contemplating a presidential run — an ambition she has hinted at before . Though she could not … [Read more...] about Liz Cheney Could Play Spoiler Against GOP in 2024 Presidential Race

___ Which EVs qualify for new US tax credit? Websites offer help WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government is moving forward with its plan to award new tax credits to electric vehicle purchasers. It’s part of the rollout of a huge new climate, tax and healthcare law. Several new websites launched Tuesday to help people identify which vehicles qualify for the credits. Based on data submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, at least 31 new 2022 and 2023 models qualify for the tax credit. For starters, they must be made in North America to be eligible. President Joe Biden signed Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill into law on Tuesday afternoon. It includes a tax credit of up to $7,500 that could be used to defray the cost of purchasing an electric vehicle. ___ Companies facing 1st tax on stock buybacks in Biden bill WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have pulled off a quiet first in legislation passed this month: the creation of a tax … [Read more...] about Business Highlights: EV tax credits, Walmart earnings

After the resignation of Boris Johnson, the Tory leadership was left wide open for several candidates. Ultimately, the contest has come down to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. The leadership race has acquired greater significance as it is taking place in the midst of simmering political tensions surrounding the state of British economy. Rising food and energy prices have been taking a toll, especially on the working classes, students, elderly citizens and disabled people. Their very subsistence is under threat, pushing them into the vicious cycle of hunger and poverty. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the inflation figure of 9 percent in April is the highest in Britain in the last 40 years. According to the chief economist of the ONS and governor of the Bank of England, record gas prices are the key inflationary drivers. Further, predictions estimate that inflation may reach 10 percent in the coming winter. The key reason for the cost-of-living crisis is the soaring … [Read more...] about OPINION | Rishi Sunak May Find it Difficult to Make it To 10 Downing Street: Here’s Why

Google-affiliated company Sidewalk Labs has reportedly abandoned its plan to build a high-tech “smart town” on Toronto’s waterfront due to “unprecedented economic uncertainty.” The project had already faced controversy around the tech giant’s data collection plans, with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association called it a “data surveillance test bed.” CBC reports that the high-tech Toronto neighborhood planned by Google-affiliated firm Sidewalk Labs has been abandoned, with the company citing “unprecedented economic uncertainty” motivating the decision. The project, dubbed Quayside, didn’t have the government approvals it needed to go ahead regardless and has been consistently questioned about the privacy aspects of the proposed neighborhood by Toronto citizens and civic leaders. The “smart city” planned to feature cutting edge technology including heated sidewalks, autonomous cars, and residential towers constructed from timber. The project planned to create 44,000 jobs and … [Read more...] about Google Cancels ‘Smart Town’ Plan Criticized as ‘Data Surveillance Test Bed’

A privacy expert has quit the Google-owned Sidewalk Labs smart city project, citing fears of constant surveillance within the proposed city. Ann Cavoukian, the former privacy commissioner of Ontario and a consultant to Sidewalk Labs, a company owned by Google which aims to develop a “smart city” in Toronto, has quit the project according to Gizmodo . Cavoukian was recruited to join the project as a consultant but handed in her resignation letter recently, stating: “I imagined us creating a Smart City of Privacy, as opposed to a Smart City of Surveillance.” In 2017, Waterfront Toronto enlisted the help of Sidewalk Labs, which is linked to Google’s parent company Alphabet, to develop a plan for a smart city in the town’s Quayside area. As part of this development, Cavoukian created a plan called Privacy by Design which aimed to protect the data privacy of the citizens of the smart city. But the smart city has faced a growing level of criticism since it’s announcement. Jim … [Read more...] about Privacy Expert Leaves Google-Backed ‘Smart City’ Project over Surveillance Fears