Education layoffs, royal book, Emmy nominations, rising wedding costs: The week in review
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 14 that the Trump administration could move forward with laying off more than 1,300 Education Department workers. The staffers, whose responsibilities included helping protect students and teachers from discrimination, assisting college financial aid offices and compiling data about the nation's schools, were laid off in March. The Supreme Court's green light came with caveats, though: The justices didn't rule on the merits of the case. They only allowed the agency to carry out the layoffs while a legal challenge proceeds.
Queen bonded with presidents
A new book aims to show Britain's Queen Elizabeth II wasn't just a woman in a colorful hat. The queen, whose 70-year reign made her the nation's longest-ruling monarch, met 13 sitting U.S. presidents over her lifetime, more than any other American or foreign head of state. 'The Queen and Her Presidents' will be published by HarperCollins on April 14, just days before the 100th anniversary of the queen's birth. It is written by Susan Page, USA TODAY's Washington bureau chief. It will chronicle her transformation from a shy, anxious princess to a powerful and persuasive leader and will provide candid assessments of America's commanders-in-chief.
Saying I do to higher costs
Wedding season is in full swing and if invites are stacking up, celebrating friends and family can turn into a budgeting problem fast. Between travel, accommodations, gifts and attire, guests spent $610 on average to attend a wedding in 2024, according to a study by The Knot, a wedding resources website. Of course, the amount guests spend depends on whether they need to travel. On average, guests spend $270 for a local wedding, $840 when they drive to an out-of-town wedding, and $1,680 when flights are required to reach the venue. The average wedding gift cost guests $150 in 2024, $10 less than in previous years.
'Severance' leads Emmy nominations
The Emmy nominations are here! Apple TV+'s drama "Severance" leads the mentions with an impressive 27 nods, followed by HBO Max's "The Penguin" with 24. Apple's "The Studio" and HBO's "The White Lotus" tied for third place with 23 honors, and HBO's "The Last of Us" earned 16 nominations. "The Studio" also tied the record set in 2024 by "The Bear" for most nominations for a comedy series. Harrison Ford, 83, earned his first Emmy nod for his role as the ornery therapist on Apple TV's "Shrinking" (seven nominations).
Rays may be sold for $1.7B
Tampa Bay Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg has agreed in principle to sell the MLB team to a group headed by Jacksonville, Florida, developer Patrick Zalupski for roughly $1.7 billion, according to a report by The Athletic. The agreement comes just four months after the Rays backed away from a deal to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, near the site of their longtime home, Tropicana Field. The deal is expected to be completed as soon as September, an unnamed source told The Athletic, with the club remaining in the Tampa Bay area.
‒ Compiled by Michael B. Smith, copy editor
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Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Released Israeli-Argentinian hostage fights for brother still held by Hamas
KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — As Israel has announced steps to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza, a former Israeli-Argentinian hostage knows first-hand what that could mean for captives of the Hamas militant group. Iair Horn, who spent a year and a half in captivity, said hostages could tell when more aid was available because they would receive more food. 'When there's less food, then there's also less for the hostages. When there's aid, there's a possibility you might get a cucumber,' said Horn, 46. Hamas militants kidnapped Horn from his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with 250 other people, during the group's cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. He was released Feb. 15 after 498 days in captivity. For most of that time, he was held in an underground cell in a tunnel with several other hostages, including his younger brother Eitan Horn, 38. Since his release, Iair Horn has deferred his own recovery to fight for the release of his brother and the other 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, 20 of whom are still believed to be alive. Negotiations collapse again Hearing that negotiations between Israel and Hamas were once again frozen over the weekend was devastating for his family, Horn said. Since his release, he has made four trips to the U.S., where he has met with President Donald Trump and other American leaders to plead for the hostages. He wasn't sure what to make of a comment Thursday by President Donald Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, who said the U.S. would consider 'alternative options' after recalling its negotiating team from Qatar. 'I'm not a politician, and I'm not getting into those things because I don't understand them. What I understand is very simple: I want my brother back,' Horn said. 'My life is frozen right now. I live in a nightmare that every day they are kidnapping me anew,' he said. Horn, who is single, is currently living with family in Kfar Saba, a city near Tel Aviv. Previously, he worked a variety of jobs in Kibbutz Nir Oz, including in education, maintenance and the kitchen. He also ran the kibbutz pub. Every morning when he opens his eyes, he must think for a few moments to remember where he is, to remember he is no longer a hostage, Horn said. He's gained back some of the weight he lost in captivity, but his list of physical and psychological ailments is long. He does not know where he will live, what he will do in the future, or if he will go back to Nir Oz. The only thing he concentrates on is advocating for his brother's release. 'I never imagined that another half year would pass without seeing my little brother,' he said. Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The agency's count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The U.N. and other international organizations see the ministry, which operates under the Hamas government, as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Brothers were held together Iair Horn is the oldest of three brothers who grew up in Argentina. He moved to Israel at age 20, followed by his middle brother, Amos. Eitan and their parents, long divorced, joined later. On Oct. 7, 2023, Eitan was visiting Iair at his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz when the sirens started, warning of incoming missiles. Soon they received text messages alerting them to the fact that militants had infiltrated the kibbutz. Militants entered Iair's home, where he was hiding in the reinforced safe room with Eitan. Iair attempted to hold the door shut until they began shooting through the door. Then he decided to surrender, worried they might use grenades or stronger weapons. Iair, who was immediately taken into Gaza, didn't know what had happened to his brother until around the 50th day of his captivity, when the militants placed the two brothers together, and Iair realized Eitan had also been kidnapped. Being together, even in their small, barred room, was a stroke of luck, Iair said. 'There's a lot of time with nothing to do, and we talked a lot about our childhoods, about elementary school, about the youth movement, about soccer,' he said. 'We tried to keep our sense of humor. He would ask me, did you brush your teeth? And I'd ask him, did you wash your bellybutton?' 'It was silly things, silly things between siblings that I don't have right now. Many times it happens now that something happens to me on the street that I have to tell him. And I can't, and I'm so sorry,' he said, starting to cry. Captors tell hostages that two will be released For most of the time, the Horn brothers were held with three other hostages. In early February, their captors came to the group of five and said that two would be released. 'For four days, we're looking at each other and wondering if we can decide or influence the decision,' he said. After four days, the captors arrived with a small plate of snacks and a video camera. They announced that Iair and another hostage would be leaving and filmed the emotional interaction between Iair and Eitan. Hamas later released the video on its social media channels, as it has with other videos of the hostages filmed under duress. Their last night together, Eitan and Iair laid side by side in silence. 'There was no conversation because in your head you don't want to have a conversation as if it's your last conversation,' Iair Horn said. When their mother, Ruty Chmiel Strum, learned that Iair was coming out but not Eitan, she said to anyone who would listen, "Why are you doing this to my sons? They are together and you're separating them?' No one gave her an answer, but Strum clung to hope that Eitan would be released soon. Now she mostly ignores news about the negotiations, tuning out the information to protect herself. She said she raised her three boys 'as a single body,' and their support for each other is unshakable. She clasps Iair's hand as they sit together on the couch in her home and looks forward to the day Eitan returns. 'I will feel the hug of my three sons, enjoying life, each supporting each other," she said. "It will happen.'
Boston Globe
7 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Can his golf course ‘further' US-UK relations? Trump will use meeting with prime minister to try.
During his first term in 2019, Trump posted of his Turnberry property, 'Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. Also, furthers U.K. relationship!' Starmer is not a golfer, but toggling between Trump's Scottish courses shows the outsized influence the president puts on properties bearing his name — and on golf's ability to shape geopolitics. Advertisement While China initially responded to Trump's tariff threats by retaliating with high import taxes of its own on U.S. goods but has since begun negotiating easing trade tensions, Starmer and his country have taken a far softer approach. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up He's gone out of his way to work with Trump, flattering the president repeatedly during a February visit to the White House, and teaming up to announce a joint trade framework on tariffs for some key products in May. Starmer and Trump then signed a trade agreement during the G7 summit in Canada that freed the U.K.'s aerospace sector from U.S. tariffs and used quotas to reduce them on auto-related industries from 25% to 10% while increasing the amount of U.S. beef it pledged to import. The prime minister's office says Monday's meeting will also touch on Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, and that it hopes to welcome the Trump administration working with officials in Qatar and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire. Advertisement Starmer plans to stress the urgent need to cease the fighting and work to end starvation and other suffering occurring amid increasingly desperate circumstances in Gaza. Also on the agenda, according to Starmer's office, are efforts to promote a possible peace deal to end fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine — particularly efforts at forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table in the next 50 days. Protesters, meanwhile, have planned a demonstration in Balmedie, near Trump's existing course, after demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday to decry the president's visit. Discussions with Starmer follow Trump meeting Sunday with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at his Turnberry course. They announced a trade framework that will put 15% tariffs on most goods from both countries — though many major details remain pending. On Tuesday, Trump will be at the site of his new course near Aberdeen for an official ribbon cutting. It opens to the public on Aug. 13 and tee times are already for sale — with the course betting that a presidential visit can help boost sales. There are still lingering U.S.-Britain trade issues that need fine-tuning after the previous agreements, including the tariff rates Washington imposes on steel imported from the U.K. Even as some trade details linger and both leaders grapple with increasingly difficult choices in Gaza and Ukraine, however, Starmer's attempts to stay on Trump's good side appears to be working. 'The U.K. is very well-protected. You know why? Because I like them — that's their ultimate protection,' Trump said during the G7. Advertisement Also likely to improve Trump's mood is the fact that the U.S. ran an $11.4 billion trade surplus with Britain last year, meaning it exported more to the U.K. than it imported. Census Bureau figures this year indicate that the surplus could grow. The president has for months railed against yawning U.S. trade deficits with key allies and sees tariffs as a way to try and close them in hurry. Trump is set to return to Britain in September for an unprecedented second state visit. Trump will be hosted then by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.
Newsweek
8 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Thousands of Boeing Employees Could Strike Next Week: What To Know?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. More than 3,200 union workers at three St. Louis-area plants that produce U.S. fighter jets voted "overwhelmingly" to go on strike on Sunday after they rejected a proposed contract that included a 20 percent wage increase over four years. The company said it was preparing for a strike that the union said could begin on Aug. 4. Why It Matters The company has faced serious difficulties over recent years including several safety-related incidents. In March, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Boeing had lost the trust of the American people and needed strict oversight after a mid-air panel blowout on a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 airplane that was missing four key bolts and two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. A Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in India last month killing 260 people. A strike late last year by machinists' union memes put a heavy toll on the company, compounding existing production issues and stalling the manufacturing of its key aircraft, including the 737 MAX, 767, and 777 models. Pro-union signs are pictured outside the Boeing Renton Production Facility on November 3, 2024. More than 3,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in the St. Louis area voted on Sunday... Pro-union signs are pictured outside the Boeing Renton Production Facility on November 3, 2024. More than 3,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in the St. Louis area voted on Sunday to go on strike. MoreWhat To Know The International Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, or IAM, said the vote by District 837 members was overwhelmingly against the proposed contract. The current contract was to expire at 11:59 p.m. CT on Sunday, but the union said a "cooling off" period would keep a strike from beginning for a week, until Aug. 4, according to The Associated Press. Union leaders had recommended approving Boeing's offer sent last week, calling it a "landmark" agreement that the offer would improve medical, pension and overtime benefits in addition to pay. Dan Gillian, Boeing's Air Dominance vice president, general manager and senior St. Louis Site executive said in an emailed statement that the company was disappointed that the Boeing employees voted down "the richest contract offer we've ever presented to IAM 837 which addressed all their stated priorities." The Boeing Air Dominance division produces several military jets, including the U.S. Navy's Super Hornet, as well as the Air Force's Red Hawk training aircraft. The division is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area for the new U.S. Air Force fighter, the F-47, after it won the contract earlier this year. The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter jet program, initially conceived as a "family of systems" centered around a sixth-generation fighter jet, is meant to replace the F-22 Raptor. What People Are Saying Boeing's Air Dominance Vice President Gillian said in the statement: "We've activated our contingency plan and are focused on preparing for a strike. No talks are scheduled with the union." IAM said in a statement: "Union members delivered a clear message: the proposal from Boeing Defense fell short of addressing the priorities and sacrifices of the skilled IAM Union workforce. Our members are standing together to demand a contract that respects their work and ensures a secure future." What Happens Next The strike is due to begin after a one-week "cooling off" period, on Aug. 4.
