Monthly Archives: June 2022

Readers sound off on the American experiment, the Second Amendment and Ukraine – New York Daily News

Posted: June 3, 2022 at 12:35 pm

Manhattan: After the massacre in a Texas elementary school on the heels of a massacre in a Buffalo supermarket, I thought I may have to pull up stakes and leave this country. Then I thought about it again and realized I dont have to leave, I just have to support the end of the great experiment known as the United States of America.

I want to live in a land that respects the right of women to have autonomy over their own lives and bodies and to have the right to make medical decisions without government interference unless it impacts the health and well-being of fellow citizens. I want to live in a land that follows the same successes as almost all other industrialized nations when it comes to gun violence by enacting strong laws that make it nearly impossible for private citizens to own weapons whose only function is to kill as many living beings as possible. I want to live in a land where truth is truth and alternate facts are not facts at all, but lies. I want to live in a land where common sense prevails rather than the loudest voice. I want to live in a land where citizens do not ignore science even when it leads to their own demise.

Divided we fall. (Shutterstock)

Its time to divide this country into two lands governed separately. Id be happy to live in the United States of Blue and tackle the issues those states have rather than try to compromise with those whose ideology is the polar opposite of mine. Elizabeth Winters

Somerset, N.J.: In the past week, with all the bad news and divisiveness in the United States, former President Donald Trump said our country is going to hell. What he didnt say was that so much of it was because of himself. Instead of fading away and being a bad memory, he and his diminishing following continue to divide the country and try to wreck any progress in our society. When Congress passed the much-needed infrastructure bill with great input from President Biden, Trump said the Republican congresspeople were stupid because it made the Democrats look good. Thats how this egomaniac thinks. He could care less about the betterment of our country. Fortunately, more and more people realize this and he will probably be a non-factor by 2024. Arthur Bressler

Yonkers: This school shooting comes at a perfect time for Democrats. Now they can get the countrys focus off of President Bidens failed handling of gas prices, food prices and baby formula shortages. Ted Bernhardi

Brooklyn: To Voicer Patricia N. Ravel: What you say might work in a perfect world. Not in todays times. To the gun shop owners, money trumps people any day. Imagine these shop owners losing money heaven forbid. Josie Oliveri

Flushing: In Leonard Greenes column (Shame on the NRA, enough is enough, May 29) he speaks about the possibility that if the Founders had known about 30-40 round magazines and mass shootings, they might have thought twice about the Second Amendment. Maybe the Founders were smarter than we realize. The Second Amendment speaks about the right to bear arms, but it does not say all or any type of arms, meaning that some limits on the type of arms can be implied. The conservatives always talk about being textual and not creating rights that the Constitution does not actually include. There is no mention in the Constitution of assault weapons or high-capacity magazines. Isnt it logical to assume that the right to own assault weapons does not exist? Stu Brustein

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Staten Island: Mayor Adams, it is not about how the NYPD would handle a shooting incident. Children were murdered because of the lack of action by police officers. You and other mayors will brainstorm to try and solve the gun violence problem. My opinion is that this violence will never be solved. My biggest query is why are answers always looked for after the tragedy? Why were answers not found before the spike in the violence and before the rise in school shootings? There were Columbine and other school shootings and there were no answers. Is it truly possible to stop this? Jeffrey Van Pelt

Smithtown, L.I.: The New York City motto should be Land of the Free and Home of the Very Brave. Allen Brown

Old Bethpage, L.I.: Re Adams wings clipped on school control (June 1): Once again, there is no mention of teachers being part of the governing power of the educational system. This bill says it will prevent appointees from stepping out of line. Really? What does that mean exactly? Why appoint them in the first place? Adams says he is a graduate of city schools. So what!? Is that his claim to fame for deciding policy? I too am a graduate but I dont have the expertise to govern, nor does he. There is an effort to decrease the number of children in a classroom wonderful idea, but where are the empty rooms to accommodate them? There arent any. I really hope that the new appointees know what they are doing for the students and are not being political pawns. Adrienne Horowitz

New Rochelle: To Voicer Betty E. Weisblum: Thank you for your compassionate response to my recent letter. Your comments represent the views of many in our nation and I understand your concerns and your viewpoints. Let me tell you that I am not positing a theocracy. My views are a need for morals and values found in Jesus as the basis for governance and community life. Sadly, it is clear that these have not been followed by leaders, followers or citizens of any nation to the degree that would acerbate and heal many of the problems we face today. Your examples are evidence of this failure as well as the continuing search of many people to exist safely today. Jesus was a rabbinical Jew who formed a new path. We must work together and be God willing surprised by hope. Warren D. Gross

Itasca, Ill.: A friend of mine once wondered if Americas ill-fated commitment in Vietnam led to the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union and kept us out of a deadlier war later. Would several hundred thousand lives saved worldwide be worth the approximately 58,000 American soldiers lost in Vietnam? Id hate to make that argument before a family who lost a loved one in Vietnam, or a veteran still carrying scars from that conflict. Gen. Colin Powell said, No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. America learned that the hard way in the jungles of Vietnam, as did Russia in Afghanistan. Vietnam moments arent unique to the United States, we just land on our feet better. Whatever happens in Ukraine will be messy, but Im guessing most global observers would rather be America than Russia right now. Jim Newton

Hewitt, N.J.: I understand that Billy-Boy de Blasio plans to run for Congress. Who is going to vote for him? Perhaps his wife and kids! Elaine Young

Bronx: I am so tired of Voicers equating a womans right to choose with vaccine requirements. They feel that my body, my choice should apply equally to both situations. What they dont seem to understand is that you cant stand next to or breathe on someone and make them pregnant, whereas you can spread COVID-19, thereby overtaxing our hospital system by not getting vaccinated. One is a public health issue where the good of the many outweighs the desire of the individual. But we are a selfish society and many dont see it that way at all. Remember that with freedom comes responsibility. Dr. Anthony Fauci is right: If polio had struck in todays environment, we would never be able to eradicate it. Carol Webb

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Column on Second Amendment should have waited | Letters To Editor | thesunchronicle.com – The Sun Chronicle

Posted: at 12:35 pm

To the editor:

Re: Dont like the Second Amendment, change the Constitution by Bob Foley, column, May 27:

Bob Foley, and The Sun Chronicle, too, displayed an amazing sense of poor timing. Obviously, Foley has strong feelings about the Second Amendment; I believe it is an important amendment, too, so long as those who own guns are responsible hunters, sportsmen, and/or those who want to protect their homes.

Foley should have, however, waited to write his piece until the 19 young children and two teachers were buried and properly mourned.

I do not want guns taken away from responsible owners; I do want it to be more difficult to gain access to guns, especially assault weapons. The boy who shot the children and teachers should not have had easy access to two AR-15s or 300+ rounds of ammunition. Our Founding Fathers wrote the Second Amendment when weapons were muzzle loaders not when assault weapons could kill 21 in a matter of minutes, if not seconds.

While I agree with Foley that two of the missions of the NRA are to preserve the Second Amendment and promote gun safety rules, it is also one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington that fights gun legislation it feels may be restrictive.

I grew up and worked in Washington, D.C., and had two friends who worked for the NRA in the 1970s and 80s; they would tell you the NRA is not a big spender as far as funding members of Congress; it uses its money strategically to buy attack ads against candidates who support gun control laws. The NRA also uses its grading system to let its base know which members of Congress are pro-guns and those who are not. Bottom line: the NRA is very effective in blocking gun laws, even ones that a vast majority of our country support, such as comprehensive background checks.

I was an elementary school administrator during the time of Sandy Hook and the fear amongst students and parents was palpable for weeks, so this column should have been saved for later.

Thomas Fuller

Mansfield

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Letters to the Editor Steve Kerr, gun laws, the Second Amendment, democracy – The Dallas Morning News

Posted: at 12:35 pm

Pound tables to demand change

Finally, the answer from Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors: Its not silence and prayers, its noise. Kerr pounded the table. I suggest we follow his lead.

What if instead of moments of silence, we have many moments of noise when the next, and there will be a next, mass shooting happens? Imagine a group of people whether at a sporting event or in a legislative chamber or at a place of worship all at once letting out a big scream to express their true feelings of sadness.

Maybe that would get someones attention. There is a saying. If you always do what youve always done, youll always get what you always got. Gun violence and silence are, sadly, the perfect example of that vicious circle. We should all be using our loud voices and pounding tables, demanding change, not continuing the silence.

Perri Brackett, Lewisville

I cried as I watched the news of the Uvalde school shooting. By the grace of God, my 10-year-old grandson was not there and is safe. But God cannot guarantee his future safety, only our politicians can.

Gov. Greg Abbott talked about how special children are but made no suggestions on how to protect them from future shootings. It would take only two simple laws to make a difference: universal background checks with an age minimum of 21, same as the drinking age, and the elimination of military-style semi-automatic guns whose sole purpose is to kill scores of victims quickly effective in wars but with no clear purpose in civilian life.

The argument is that people should have the freedom of choice to own weapons. How is this more important than the choice of the victims to have a safe life? How is it different from the choice of a woman who is managing her reproductive rights?

So what can we do? Vote. Vote for politicians who will protect our right to life from mass murderers. Vote for politicians who will not allow forced deliveries. Vote for our democracy.

Elizabeth C. Knoop, Frisco

The Second Amendment was ratified almost 231 years ago. Do you think anything has changed in our country since 1791? No matter what political affiliation you may have, common sense should take over our elected politicians to change the Second Amendment.

We, the people of the United States, have to hold them accountable to make owning a deadly weapon difficult, at minimum. Age requirements, background checks and a required waiting period should be the standard for any gun ownership.

The killing of our kids and others can be stopped. I just dont understand the lack of effort to change this right to bear arms by our elected officials. After Sept. 11, the entire country and airlines changed their requirements to fly. We learned from Sept. 11 and have avoided another disaster of that magnitude. However, after 231 years and numerous horrific mass shootings, we havent acted to protect our citizens. Its deplorable.

Curt Richmond, Carrollton

As an independent native Texan, I no longer recognize the Republican Party. What happened to separation of church and state? Thomas Jefferson and fellow Virginian James Madison felt that state support for a particular religion or for any religion was improper. They argued that compelling citizens to support through taxation a faith they did not follow violated their natural right to religious liberty, and I agree.

In my profession, Im driven to resolve problems, not create new ones. This party seems to manufacture problems to proliferate hatred, ignore real problems and divide and distract people. In my opinion, this party has become an authoritarian theocracy where citizens are being forced to follow its beliefs including its version of history, gun laws, abortion policies, voting rules, election results (only valid if they win) and many outrageous conspiracy theories.

Evidence is no longer required for this party, because if enough people believe something then it must be true. My hope is that moderate, reasonable Republicans show up to the polls with love and compassion and right these wrongs.

Vincent Pollinzi, Carrollton

It is hard to comprehend how our country got to this point. The U.S. military is flying weapons to Europe for the war in Ukraine. The U.S. military is flying baby formula back to America for our babies. Does anyone recognize the absurdity? One government is fighting off a Russian invasion. Yet our government cant manage baby formula.

Pam Meyercord, North Dallas

In November, voters must decide to cast their ballots for congressional candidates who view fidelity to the rule of law as sacrosanct or for those who consider the oath to protect and defend Constitution as a hollow pledge. The outcome, likely to determine whether or not our constitutional republic survives, brings to mind John Adams pessimistic assertion: Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. If, as Adams suggested, our form of government is on a path toward suicide, then we must look to the electorate for intervention.

Should Republicans regain control of Congress, the autocratic-leaning movement within the party will probably spearhead further attempts to silence the opposition by advancing its assault on the cornerstone of democracy voting. If we are to prove Adams wrong, the electorate must once again rise to the occasion, as it did in the 2020 presidential election when it ousted a sitting president for undermining democratic governance.

Jan Larkin, Tampa, Fla.

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How a housing downturn could impact other sectors of the economy – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 12:33 pm

The housing market is starting to show signs of a slowdown. If the trend persists, the U.S could see an impact in other sectors of the economy starting with big-ticket items that go into furnishing a new home.

"The housing market is very much a leading indicator of the economy because of the knock on effects through the various sectors, like consumption of durable goods," Eric Basmajian, founder of EPB Macro Research, told Yahoo Finance.

He predicts durable goods such as large appliances that go into a home could cool off as fewer homes are sold.

Were going to see a cooling of new orders, and then we're going to see a pullback in industrial production or the manufacturing sector more broadly," said the researcher.

New orders for durable goods in March were up .4%, a slowdown from .6% in the prior month. Retail foot traffic compiled by SafeGraph and analyzed by Bloomberg for the 3rd week of May showed the sector with the biggest decline was home improvement and home furnishings, down 24.6% year over year.

The housing industry has already seen a substantial decline in number of sales and loan applications as 30-year mortgage rates shot up from around 3% at the end of last year, to current levels north of 5.25%.

If we see several more months of declines in housing data, including building permits and housing starts, that would be a very clear sign that the housing market is undergoing a slow down in volumes and that risks employment in the construction sector, said Basmajian.

I'd very much be on the lookout for employment in the construction sector, which would be a clear warning sign that a recession is right around the corner, he added.

As for the argument of not enough homes for buyers Basmajians viewpoint differs.

Most of the supply arguments are focused on single family homes, and that's sort of fighting the last battle. In 2005 and 2006, we had a significant overbuilding in single family homes. This economic cycle, we didn't overbuild single family homes, but we made a substantial new high in terms of the construction of multi-family, five-plus units, he said.

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People that are arguing tight supply are generally focused on single family homes. But when you look at total housing units, which would include, multifamily apartments and single family homes, the inventory numbers are actually quite high, he added.

How much the housing market could contract will depend "largely on how long and how forcefully the Federal Reserve tightens" monetary policy, says Basmajian.

This year the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates and telegraphing quantitative tightening in an effort to combat red hot inflation.

If the Federal Reserve pivots in the next three months, we could maybe have a softer decline in the housing market. But if the Federal Reserve continues to tighten policy through the end of the year and into the middle of 2023 persistently contracting real money supply, then the probability of a severe decline in the housing market is likely. he added.

Ines is a markets reporter covering equities. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre

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Nowhere else to go but up Jim Cramer likes these 3 mega-cap tech stocks that have been soundly shellacked in 2022 – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 12:33 pm

Nowhere else to go but up Jim Cramer likes these 3 mega-cap tech stocks that have been soundly shellacked in 2022

With the Nasdaq Composite down 24% year to date, sentiment towards tech stocks is far from bullish.

Its hard to predict when the market will bottom, but CNBCs Jim Cramer sees big opportunities in the tech space.

While they may stay losers, the bottom line is theyve fallen so darn far that I think theyve become metaphors for a whole host of stocks that are now ready to rally because theyve got nowhere else to go but up, he said on Tuesday.

The Mad Money host points to three big-name tech stocks that are down substantially in 2022.

Heres a look at each one of them.

Cramer began by talking about Amazon, which despite its dominance in the e-commerce industry, is down 28% year to date.

He believes that Amazon remains a growth stock, but for the company to increase its investor appeal, it needs to take its medicine.

They got to cut back on warehouses that are no longer needed, cut back on workers who can get new jobs quickly if they let them go to this environment, and get more aggressive on the advertising side of retail while maintaining a big lead in the cloud with Amazon Web Services.

Cramer points out that Amazon could earn $82 a share in 2024, but after taking those initiatives, that $82 of EPS in 2024 could become $100.

And you're buying Amazon stock for close to market multiples in those numbers.

Even mega-cap stocks can plunge violently.

Owning some of the largest social media and messaging apps in the world Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger Meta is a tech gorilla commanding hundreds of billions of dollars of market cap.

Yet shares have fallen 44% year to date.

The companys ambition in the metaverse was once considered a big catalyst for the stock. But that enthusiasm doesnt seem to apply to todays market as most metaverse-related stocks are deep in the red.

Cramer, however, continues to believe in the concept.

The stocks trading like the whole metaverse thing is just one big joke being played on Mark Zuckerberg, which seems pretty unlikely to me given his track record.

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Cramer adds that Zuckerberg is not alone in this endeavor. Some of the smartest guys in the industry like Nvidias co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang are betting big on the metaverse as well.

Note that Meta Platforms will start trading under a new ticker META on Jun. 9.

The third one on Cramers list of colossal losers is Google parent company Alphabet.

Despite being down 21% year to date, Alphabet is still a tech behemoth valued at $1.5 trillion.

Cramer likes Alphabet for a very simple reason: Google remains the best way to advertise.

In Q1, Google advertising brought in $54.7 billion of revenue, up 22.3% from a year ago. Revenue grew 23.0% year over year to $68.0 billion for the entire company.

While there have been some concerns about corporations ad spending in this economic climate, Cramer thinks Alphabet will be fine.

We all know if you're cutting back on advertising, you're not cutting back on Google, you're cutting back on everything else, he says. Google is the way you move product that you can't move on Amazon or Instagram.

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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Kim Kardashian says it’s ‘crazy’ she is on the cover of Sports Illustrated in her 40s – Yahoo Life

Posted: at 12:33 pm

Kim Kardashian is reflecting on her personal life and career as she celebrates a major career milestone.

The reality star and SKIMS mogul, 41, appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue this month, which marks her first time ever appearing in the magazine. In a video promoting the new issue, Kardashian opened up about the things that bring her joy, including parenting her four children with her ex-husband Kanye West.

Kim Kardashian shared the parenting moment she finds the most stressful. (Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

"I'd say that the most rewarding part is that, unless you're a parent, you really don't get how challenging it is," she explained. "There are nights where you just are like, 'I don't want to do this, I dont want to adult anymore, this is really hard.' Every kid is crying, and no one will go to bed."

She also said that the "most stressful time" with her kids is when she does a photoshoot with all four children.

"Every time after I attempt a Christmas card, I'm just like, I'm never doing this again," she said. "I'll individually do a shot with each kid and have to Photoshop it together. I say that every year, and then every year I attempt it. I'm like, 'No, they're a year older, we've got this, we're not going to fight, we're going to get through it, no one's going to cry today. And then it's a nightmare, and I'm like, 'I'm never doing that again.'"

As for her own photoshoot, Kardashian told the magazine that the Sports Illustrated cover was a surprising milestone for her.

"Every time I would see magazines, especially in the 90s when I was growing up, it's always these perfect, tall, thin women, and I just have never been that," she shared. "I vividly remember Tyra Banks on the cover, and women with curves, and I remember just thinking that was so cool, that was so cool. But I still didn't think that I would. I thought you had to be a professional model and a runway model. And it's always really young girls. I don't want to date myself, or sound old, but in my 40s? That's crazy. I never thought in a million years that I would be shooting one myself."

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While Kardashian's cover has been met with some controversy, MJ Day, the magazine's editor in chief, explained in an interview with Yahoo Life that there were many reasons why The Kardashians star was the right choice for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

"She failed a bunch of times. She could have quit, but she didn't. And it was very public, her failure," Day said. "When you're that famous, there's gonna be a lot of people that say a lot of things about you, but her persistence and her unwillingness to limit herself in all these other ways that doesn't necessarily get as much attention as like what she wears to the Met Gala, unfortunately. She just continues to do it, even in light of any type of negativity. I just really stand for that, like, I really applaud that."

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What’s a DINK? Here’s what its like to be a couple that revels in having ‘dual income, no kids’ – Yahoo Life

Posted: at 12:33 pm

What is a DINK? Some couples are embracing a childfree life where they have more control over what their income covers. (Photo: Carly Caramanna)

We've all seen the memes ... and even the bumper stickers. Colorful displays proclaiming "I'm a FUNCLE," or celebrating being mom to "fur babies" only. There are countless ways some share that they're enthusiastically certain they are living their best life thanks to being childfree. And once these happy souls, of which, I am one, find a partner, there's another term that comes into play: DINK.

What's a DINK? It's an acronym that stands for "dual income, no kids," and is widely interpreted as two people living together as partners with no children of their own (and no plans to have kids) who are thriving in their careers and personal lives.

The origins of the clever acronym aren't clear and it's not a term frequently mentioned in popular culture, but, like The Goonies, G.I. Joe figurines and the Walkman, the phrase is said to have been coined in the 80s, particularly during the rise of yuppie (young urban professional) culture.

If you were a fan of the 90s animated television series, Doug, you may even remember the Funnies' lovable neighbors, Bud and Tippi Dink. Yes, their surname is a reference to that DINK: The series creator, Jim Jinkins, even confirmed it in a 2016 Decider interview.

The stigma placed around one's very personal decision about whether or not to have children is likely why the term floats so far below the radar but the DINK community is a proud one complete with their very own symbol emblazoned on bumper stickers.

My husband and I do not consider ourselves to be selfish individuals, but instead, we are selfish with the time we have together for the sake of our relationship. For us, that means not having children. (Photo: Carly Caramanna)

I would know. I'm a proud DINK. My husband and I are both in our late 30s and have chosen the DINK life and no, we aren't those "married to our career" types. While we both enjoy success in our fields, we enjoy a deep bond that I can't imagine would be possible if I had to give so much of myself to caring for a child. We are not selfish individuals, but instead, selfish with the time we have together for the sake of our relationship.

Don't get me wrong, we love children and have great relationships with our many younger extended family members and the children of close friends. In fact, with the extra time (and money) we have from not having children of our own, we have the ability to forge extra-special bonds with these children in our lives.

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My husband and I share a love of travel and are able to explore for a good chunk of the year, including several trips a month and at least one long-term international trip a year all on our own dime (no trust funds here). With our jobs, we also typically spend a few months a year living in Los Angeles to work on our creative endeavors. Simply put: We love the lives we have proudly designed for ourselves and have a darn good time along the way. Most importantly, we feel fulfilled in every sense of the word.

In recent times, I've discovered that we're not alone. In addition to circles of friends that share this similar mindset, there's an entire online community dedicated to removing the pressures and stigmatism surrounding the subject.

Dania Casellas, a 33-year-old microbiologist and online fitness coach, resides in Florida with her partner. Together, they have created a safe and inspiring space on Instagram for others like them to share the daily humorous (and often reluctant) encounters they face as DINKS.

"I knew in my early 20s that I for sure had no desire to have kids," Casellas tells Yahoo Life. "I don't get excited over babies but I'm good with kids. I have a silly personality and enjoy being around them but taking on the huge responsibility of raising someone just doesn't appeal to me. I was told I was crazy, selfish and that I would regret it. I'm now 33, childfree and living my best life."

That best life she speaks of? Casellas spent years living in New York City on a journey of self discovery and she and her partner now enjoy the spontaneity that DINK life brings, like making last-minute dinner plans, playing in soccer leagues and taking trips to Universal Studios Orlando.

"I think having kids would limit us in the activities we enjoy and the quiet living space we love," Casellas adds. "We hope to be homeowners soon. With the way things are right now, I'm not sure we could afford a home and kids. Adulting is expensive."

As today's society continues to see a growing number of issues on the rise overall uncertainty, crippling debt, a poor housing and job market and even climate change financial, cultural and biological issues come into play when considering parenthood.

Still, arriving at the decision to not have children wasn't easy given the social pressures she faced. "I'm basically the only childfree-by-choice person I know outside of social media," Casellas shares. "Friends and family around me were starting families and honestly I almost started to doubt my choice. I needed support so I started listening to books about being childfree by choice." She credits books like A Childfree Happily Ever After: Why More Women are Choosing Not to Have Childrenby Tanya Williams with making peace with her decisions, as well as the discovery of social media communities.

"When I discovered people sharing their childfree lives on Instagram, I felt like I was going to therapy," she says. "Childfree people absolutely live healthy, fulfilling and purposeful lives. It's an amazing and supportive community to be a part of."

Childfree Millennial is another Instagram-based DINK support system, run by partners Marcela and Michael, ages 26 and 31 respectively, who live in Kansas City, Missouri and prefer to keep their last names anonymous.

"It was about three years ago that I came to the realization and had a light bulb moment that kids weren't a mandatory thing in life," Marcela says. "Crazy, I know I just didn't grow up being told this or having any examples of people who didn't have kids in their 20s and 30s."

"When I had this epiphany," she continues, "I couldn't contain my excitement because of how relieved I was. I wasn't going to have to do something that I had been dreading my entire teenage and adult years."

Today, Marcella says she wakes up every day with a smile on her face knowing she can confidently accomplish all that she sets out to do. "I find myself investing more in creativity, exploring the world and becoming a better person," she says.

She uses her platform as a way to let others know it's OK. "Three years ago, I wish I had someone to look up to like me in the childfree space," she explains. "Someone who was open in talking about their childfree journey and how amazing and inspiring your life can be, regardless of what others are saying about it."

If you see a decal like this on a nearby car, you're probably encountering a DINK. (Photo: Rachel Wiedmayer)

As many work toward removing the stigma of going childfree, proud DINKS are not shy when it comes to displaying their status. One way of letting the world know where you stand in the child department is the popular trend of displaying a bumper sticker outlining your "family." On a DINK's car, those stick figure children are are depicted as little money bags.

Rachel Wiedmayer is one of the top-rated sellers of DINK bumper stickers on her Etsy store, WiedMakers. "I am half of a DINK couple," Wiedmayer says. "My husband and I do not (and will not ever) have children of the human variety. We have two dogs and a cat. I decided to start selling these decals because I look for designs that align with my views and interests."

And there are obvious financial benefits along the way to not having children. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it is projected that it will cost parents, on average, $233,610 to raise a child born in 2015.

Jay Zigmont is founder of financial planning service Childfree Wealth and author of Portraits of Childfree Wealth. Zigmont focuses his client base almost exclusively on childfree couples, a trend he believes we can expect to see more of since, as the number of childfree families grows, so does the need for financial plans that aren't tailored towards those with children.

Jay Zigmont works as a financial planner for childfree couples, a trend he says is growing. (Photo: Jay Zigmont)

"Financial planning for childfree individuals is different," Zigmont explains. "Most financial rules of thumb or general plans assume you have children. With 11% of the U.S. population over age 55 being childfree (and that number growing in younger generations), we as financial planners need to be sure to adjust to this growing need."

It's not all yachts and spontaneous international travels for this growing number of individuals. "Being childfree does not automatically mean you are rich," adds Zigmont. "The difference is that if a childfree person is barely keeping their head above water, if they had a kid they would drown."

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What's a DINK? Here's what its like to be a couple that revels in having 'dual income, no kids' - Yahoo Life

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Jada Pinkett Smith hopes Will Smith and Chris Rock ‘heal’ and ‘reconcile’ after Oscars slap: ‘We need ’em both’ – Yahoo Entertainment

Posted: at 12:33 pm

Jada Pinkett Smith directly addressed "the slap" for the first time and said she hopes Will Smith and Chris Rock eventually "reconcile."

Wednesday's new Red Table Talk is about the devastating impact of alopecia, the hair loss condition in which Pinkett Smith suffers, so the Girls Trip star had to acknowledge the incident at the 2022 Oscars. (Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife's bald head.)

"Now about Oscar night. My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. With the state of the world today, we need 'em both, and we all actually need one another more than ever," Pinkett Smith, 50, said at the beginning of the Facebook Watch show.

"Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years and that's keep figuring out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening," she concluded.

The mother of 12-year-old Rio Allred, who suffered from alopecia and took her own life after being bullied, was a guest on the episode. Pinkett Smith also spoke about her personal experience.

"I think the part that makes it most difficult for me is that it comes and goes," the actress explained. "It's stressful. A patch grows then another patch comes out. That gives me a lot of anxiety 'Oh, well what's my hair going to look like today.'"

While presenting an award at the Oscars, Rock made an impromptu joke about Pinkett Smith: "Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2 can't wait to see it, all right?" Smith, who later took home his first Oscar for King Richard, stormed the stage and hit Rock in the face.

Jada Pinkett Smith finally addresses Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. (Photo: Getty Images)

Smith issued a public apology to Rock the next day, after neglecting to do so during his Best Actor acceptance speech. As for Pinkett Smith, she shared a cryptic post about "healing," but shied away from discussing the situation directly. When RTT premiered in April, there was a cryptic acknowledgment of the scandal.

"Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing," a caption read across the screen at the top of the show. "Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls. Until then the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest."

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Smith has been banned from the Academy and Oscar events for 10 years. As for Rock, he's started to address the incident during stand-up shows.

"Im OK, if anybody was wondering," Rock said earlier this month. "I got most of my hearing back."

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

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Look to the AL West for early-season fantasy surprises – Yahoo Sports

Posted: at 12:33 pm

Yahoo Fantasy analysts Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don identify some fantasy surprises and flop after a quarter of the MLB season.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: We're into June. We're over a quarter of the way through the fantasy baseball season. The standings have merit. The statistics have meaning. And we need to try to figure out what's going on. Dalton Del Don, who's one of the biggest surprises so far of the fantasy baseball season?

DALTON DEL DON: Well, my guy Taylor Ward. Been banged up a little bit lately, but he's easily been the biggest surprise for me. He went undrafted in most Yahoo-- or all Yahoo leagues. His ADP was outside 700 in the deeper NFBC formats. He's been a top-25 fantasy player this season, and some players have like 70 more at-bats than him among the leaderboard too.

His OPS is almost 100 points higher than the next most. He even has the ability to add some steals moving forward. Ward is not this good, Hall of Fame level, but I'm also not quite rushing to trade him. He's been the biggest fantasy surprise to open this season.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Yeah, my fantasy surprise is going to be Julio Rodrguez in Seattle. We knew they had a couple of hot prospects there in Rodrguez and Kelenic. Kelenic hasn't done a thing right. He's been sent down to the minors. Rodrguez leads the league in steals. He's showing power.

He actually has a decent average, although umpires have given him almost no respect. It's a joke some of the strikes that they've called against Rodrguez. I think he could be a first or second round player as early as next season. He's somebody I wish I had on all of my fantasy rosters. I have him on none of my fantasy rosters.

I also will give honorable mention to LA Dodgers' rotation. The cheaper options have been better than the stars. Buehler and Urias have been a mild disappointment. Guys like Gonsolin and Anderson have been really nice additions. And if you believed in Martn Prez, man, he's been unbelievable. He's doing it with soft stuff. He's doing with a fastball that couldn't get stopped for speeding in a school zone. But he's been a big surprise through the first quarter of the season.

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Who's been disappointing us, Dalton? Give us one of your fantasy fades for the first quarter, somebody who's been breaking your heart.

DALTON DEL DON: First off, I have Julio Rodrguez as a top-10 pick in next year's drafts. Book it now. I think it's going to happen. Marcus Semien is my biggest flop to open the season, a third or fourth round fantasy pick in most leagues. Had 45 homers last season. It took him almost 45 games to hit his first homer this year.

Coming off a career year at his age, then signing a huge offseason contract in which he saw a big downgrade in home parks, it's not exactly a shock that Semien isn't living up to his ADP. But, man, even his biggest detractors couldn't have seen a .500 OPS coming. He will get better. He's started to show signs of life at the plate recently. But Marcus Semien has been an absolute flop so far.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Man, I need him to come back. He's on a bunch of my teams. My feeling was that the ADP price was putting in too much regression, and it's almost like he's forgotten how to play baseball now. At least the contract will keep him at the top of the lineup. He's still running. I don't know that the power is going to come back. But I'm worried that may take a big ADP bath on Semien this year.

My disappointment is Teoscar Hernndez, but it really could be several of the Blue Jays. Vlad Jr. has been a disappointment. Springer's been OK. Bo Bichette's been a little bit of a disappointment. But I'm focusing Hernndez, right around the Mendoza Line, only a couple of home runs. He's not running. Maybe these guys, they pine for Buffalo or they pine for the Florida park they were in for a while. Maybe just being in Toronto all year has been an adjustment period.

Dalton, are things going to get better in Toronto? Or is it time to get really nervous about some of these guys? Again, Teoscar is my guy, but we know Vlad Jr. has been a disappointment and Bichette as well. What's your take on the Toronto situation?

DALTON DEL DON: Oh, too much talent. Bound to bounce back. The summer months will heat up. The offensive stats will come. Yes, a slight downgrade of home parks based off last year, but Toronto's still a nice place to hit. They'll get it going.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Hey, still have three quarters of the season to get going in fantasy baseball. Make some good trades. Make some good pickups. And it's a marathon, not a sprint. You've heard that before. We'll be with you all summer.

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Epic Games VP: People have lost interest in the metaverse – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 12:33 pm

Tech companies such as Facebook parent Meta (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT) are plowing money into their plans for the metaverse, the 3-D virtual world that tech executives are obsessed with. But so far, the experiences that users can get their hands on are nowhere near Silicon Valleys promises of hyper-realistic avatars and seamless interactions with the real world. And it could be turning consumers off.

People have kind of lost interest in the metaverse, because characters look like cartoons with no legs, Marc Petit, Epic Games VP and general manager of Unreal Engine, told Yahoo Finance. I mean, who wants to be that? This is not attractive.

Petits critique is a not-so-thinly veiled reference to Metas Horizon Worlds platform. The companys primary metaverse experience, Horizon Worlds features avatars without legs and graphics that are far from those found in modern big-budget video games.

And that kind of overpromising could push users away in the long run.

The concept of the metaverse was first popularized by Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash. Technology companies have chased the idea of 3-D virtual worlds could visit for even longer, though.

It's going to take years for the metaverse to reach its potential. (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

Meta even changed its name to signal its focus on the metaverse, while Microsoft is exploring ways of using it for both entertainment and work. Google has also expressed interested in the concept, and Apple is reportedly working on its own augmented reality headset that could debut later this year.

But the way the metaverse has been marketed to consumers so far has been both vague and full of far-off technologies. During an October presentation, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed off a world where you can talk to realistic projections of your friends via augmented reality glasses and have the ability to play games with friends in Ready Player One-style worlds.

But what we have now is a far cry from that. Rather than a boundless online world, Metas Horizon Worlds is more of a small gathering space for early adopters.

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What's more, there are signs that even young people have a fuzzy understanding of the metaverse. According to Piper Sandlers latest Taking Stock With Teens survey, while 26% of teens have some kind of VR device, just 5% use it daily and 17% use it weekly. Whats more, 50% of teens are either unsure of the metaverse or have no intention of buying a VR device.

Epic Games' 'Fortnite' offers an early glimpse at the potential for the metaverse without the need for things like headsets. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Of course, Epic Games produces the incredibly popular game Fortnite, which is, itself, an early form of the metaverse. Gamers can participate in the games "Battle Royale" or watch Ariana Grande concerts or discussions on race with Killer Mike and Jemele Hill.

While Fortnite is considered a kind of way into the metaverse, Epic isnt banking its entire future on the prospect.

To reach the level where consumers across the board will fall in love with the metaverse, companies will need to offer photorealistic graphics and ensure their experiences are worth diving into.

The metaverse needs to be about places and content that consumers will want to consume, Petit said. That should not look like 1980s graphics, like a lot of things we see even today.

Reaching a level of photorealism is going to take years of continued development and invention if the metaverse is ever going to pan out the way Silicon Valley companies hope.

We have to pace ourselves, Petit said. The pandemic kind of forced that awareness around the metaverse upon us, those social experiences. But it took us 30 years already to get where we areIn my mind, we haven't seen anything yet about the metaverse.

For companies like Meta, the wait might be too long. The social media company spent $10.2 billion on its vision for the metaverse in 2021 alone, including building virtual and augmented reality headsets and the software users will need to access virtual worlds. According to Zuckerberg, that wont pay off for another 15 years.

That spending also comes as the company is experiencing a slowdown in ad sales related to inflation, the war in Ukraine, and Apples iOS privacy changes.

As for Petit, his vision of the metaverse includes more than just headsets. According to the VP, the metaverse will allow for consumers to view content and information on everything from their glasses to car windshields.

Thats a concept shared by others in the field who say the metaverse will be less about virtual worlds that you step into, and more about bringing data and information out of the real world.

For now, consumers like you and me will have to sit back and wait for the metaverse to continue to take shape. But one things for certain we havent seen anything yet.

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Epic Games VP: People have lost interest in the metaverse - Yahoo Finance

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