Latest news with #Joiner
Newsweek
5 days ago
- General
- Newsweek
10-Year-Old Shih Tzu Crowned World's 'Ugliest' Dog in Need of Forever Home
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. In an unofficial competition, an animal rescue organization marketed one of their available dogs as the world's "ugliest" in hopes of gathering attention for his adoption, while also proving that there's no such thing as an ugly dog. When a fellow rescuer reached out to Mac's Mission about Joiner, the organization immediately stepped in to help. One look at him told them everything: He needed attention. "He was absolutely covered in fleas, with painful scabs across his body, especially around his neck, where it looked like a collar had once been," a representative from Mac's Mission told Newsweek. "It was clear he had been neglected for far too long." Some described him as "cute in an ugly kind of way," but to Mac's Mission, they thought he was perfect—patchy fur, scabby skin and all. During his time at the rescue organization, the 10-year-old Shih Tzu received nicknames such as Crusty, Crustopher and "The World's Ugliest Dog." That's when it dawned on the organization to run with that title, hoping to attract the perfect forever home in a witty Facebook post. "We used his funny nicknames to share his story on social media—and guess what? The world noticed," the representative said. "His post sparked a big conversation and, most importantly, gave this scruffy sweetheart the attention he deserves." Photo of Joiner, a senior canine available for adoption, who some people are claiming could be the world's "ugliest" dog. Photo of Joiner, a senior canine available for adoption, who some people are claiming could be the world's "ugliest" dog. Mac's Mission/Facebook The July 15 Facebook post reached over 6,300 likes and 1,100 shares within two days. People flocked to the comment section, defending Joiner's perfect self. "No, there's no such thing as an ugly dog, especially this one," wrote one Facebook user. "Bless his sweet heart! Praying for a loving home soon," another person wrote in the comments. However, the attention has yet to lead to his forever family. The representative said there had been no interest in adoption for Joiner so far. Until that day comes, he's happily enjoying his time with the organization's medical fosters as he is recovering from his severe flea allergy that left his skin and fur in "ruins." He began antibiotics and has since been diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur. Those interested in adopting Joiner or another available animal can apply through the Mac's Mission website. "Joiner may have been overlooked before, but around here, he's nothing short of a star," the organization said. "Ugly? Nah. We call it character." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Sydney Morning Herald
06-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
A rate cut could be on the way. Why that could be a problem
Data has suggested many households also chose to save last year's stage 3 tax cuts; the household savings ratio is at its highest level since 2022, consumer confidence is in the doldrums and last week's retail spending figures were also soft. This weakness is surprising. Economists had expected that, by now, lower inflation and lower mortgage repayments would have fired up spending. What has held back the spending rebound? IFM Investors chief economist Alex Joiner points out that consumers measure the cost of living not through the inflation rate but how expensive doing the shopping feels. And on that front, he says prices are still 20 to 25 per cent higher than they were in 2019. The recovery in wages and slowdown in inflation of recent years has not yet made up for the hit that households took from the post-COVID surge in inflation. 'Household incomes are starting to grow, but there's a long way for them to catch up,' Joiner says. Loading The Commonwealth Bank says there appears to have been 'scarring' from the cost-of-living crunch, so households now appear more focused on saving and paying down debt. CBA senior economist Belinda Allen says this looks like the result of how households are feeling, as opposed to a change in their financial capacity to spend. 'They are just more wary to unleash that spending potential,' she says. That wary attitude can cause problems for the economy because household consumption accounts for more than half of gross domestic product. What can the Reserve Bank do about this cautious household mindset? It really has only one weapon – moving interest rates – and the market is convinced that there are significant rate cuts coming. Financial markets are betting there will be three or four interest rate cuts over the next year in an attempt to convince households to open their purse strings. The challenge is that cutting interest rates clearly has all sorts of other economic impacts aside from its effect on household cashflows. Most obviously, rates can have a big influence on house prices. House prices have risen for five months in a row, and analysts say the February rate cut was a turning point for the market. Prices are rising at an annualised rate of almost 6 per cent a year, and it wouldn't be surprising if that growth rate accelerated in response to more central bank rate cuts. In short, rate cuts appear to be affecting the housing market much more quickly than they're affecting household spending. The Reserve Bank has distanced itself from the issue. In May, Bullock said there was nothing the Reserve Bank could do about the affordability of housing, which is related to an 'imbalance' between housing supply and demand. All the same, some economists believe the Reserve Bank faces a puzzle in balancing the effects of interest rates on housing and consumer spending. UBS economist George Tharenou last month called it an 'RBA conundrum': that interest rate cuts are having only a muted impact on household cashflows while giving asset prices (mainly houses) more of a boost. The Reserve Bank says it doesn't set interest rates based on house prices, and that's fair enough. But it can't entirely ignore them either. Indeed, Tharenou says the risk of putting upward pressure on house prices should limit how willing the Reserve Bank is to cut interest rates too aggressively. In the past, the Reserve Bank has generally raised concerns about the housing market when prices are booming and when it's coupled with a sharp lift in credit growth or more risky borrowing. There are no signs of that happening now – the latest figures showed housing credit growth was 5.8 per cent, which is hardly a boom. Loading Even so, the central bank faces a tricky balancing act in how deeply it can cut interest rates to perk up gloomy consumers without also adding fuel to a housing market that is already showing firm signs of warming up. It's a puzzle that reflects the nation's sky-high house prices, which have built up over decades – and it's one that the central bank board will continue to face whatever it decides on Tuesday.
The Age
06-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
A rate cut could be on the way. Why that could be a problem
Data has suggested many households also chose to save last year's stage 3 tax cuts; the household savings ratio is at its highest level since 2022, consumer confidence is in the doldrums and last week's retail spending figures were also soft. This weakness is surprising. Economists had expected that, by now, lower inflation and lower mortgage repayments would have fired up spending. What has held back the spending rebound? IFM Investors chief economist Alex Joiner points out that consumers measure the cost of living not through the inflation rate but how expensive doing the shopping feels. And on that front, he says prices are still 20 to 25 per cent higher than they were in 2019. The recovery in wages and slowdown in inflation of recent years has not yet made up for the hit that households took from the post-COVID surge in inflation. 'Household incomes are starting to grow, but there's a long way for them to catch up,' Joiner says. Loading The Commonwealth Bank says there appears to have been 'scarring' from the cost-of-living crunch, so households now appear more focused on saving and paying down debt. CBA senior economist Belinda Allen says this looks like the result of how households are feeling, as opposed to a change in their financial capacity to spend. 'They are just more wary to unleash that spending potential,' she says. That wary attitude can cause problems for the economy because household consumption accounts for more than half of gross domestic product. What can the Reserve Bank do about this cautious household mindset? It really has only one weapon – moving interest rates – and the market is convinced that there are significant rate cuts coming. Financial markets are betting there will be three or four interest rate cuts over the next year in an attempt to convince households to open their purse strings. The challenge is that cutting interest rates clearly has all sorts of other economic impacts aside from its effect on household cashflows. Most obviously, rates can have a big influence on house prices. House prices have risen for five months in a row, and analysts say the February rate cut was a turning point for the market. Prices are rising at an annualised rate of almost 6 per cent a year, and it wouldn't be surprising if that growth rate accelerated in response to more central bank rate cuts. In short, rate cuts appear to be affecting the housing market much more quickly than they're affecting household spending. The Reserve Bank has distanced itself from the issue. In May, Bullock said there was nothing the Reserve Bank could do about the affordability of housing, which is related to an 'imbalance' between housing supply and demand. All the same, some economists believe the Reserve Bank faces a puzzle in balancing the effects of interest rates on housing and consumer spending. UBS economist George Tharenou last month called it an 'RBA conundrum': that interest rate cuts are having only a muted impact on household cashflows while giving asset prices (mainly houses) more of a boost. The Reserve Bank says it doesn't set interest rates based on house prices, and that's fair enough. But it can't entirely ignore them either. Indeed, Tharenou says the risk of putting upward pressure on house prices should limit how willing the Reserve Bank is to cut interest rates too aggressively. In the past, the Reserve Bank has generally raised concerns about the housing market when prices are booming and when it's coupled with a sharp lift in credit growth or more risky borrowing. There are no signs of that happening now – the latest figures showed housing credit growth was 5.8 per cent, which is hardly a boom. Loading Even so, the central bank faces a tricky balancing act in how deeply it can cut interest rates to perk up gloomy consumers without also adding fuel to a housing market that is already showing firm signs of warming up. It's a puzzle that reflects the nation's sky-high house prices, which have built up over decades – and it's one that the central bank board will continue to face whatever it decides on Tuesday.
Chicago Tribune
09-06-2025
- Chicago Tribune
‘He is the one who turned that corner into a firing range': Judge sentences men in slaying of 7-year-old Amari Brown
Speaking from the witness stand nearly a decade after her 7-year-old son was shot and killed, Amber Hailey said every court date has tested her resolve. Her son, Amari Brown, was gunned down on the Fourth of July in 2015 in an act of violence that spurred national news coverage and calls for change. Those calls heightened just months later after the targeted killing of another child, 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee. 'Amari was an innocent child who had his whole life ahead of him,' Hailey said, breaking down in tears. 'He had his dreams, aspirations.' With the Fourth of July holiday just weeks away, Hailey made it to the final court hearing on Monday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building to see her son's killers sentenced to a lifetime in prison. Judge Nicholas Kantas sentenced Jamal Joiner, 30, to life in prison and Rasheed Martin, 30, to a term of 110 years after their respective juries convicted them last year of murder and attempted murder. Joiner is already serving a life sentence in prison in another 2015 murder case, the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Courtney Jackson. Amari had spent the evening watching fireworks with his father when he was felled by bullets fired in the 1100 block of North Harding Avenue in Humboldt Park. Joiner and Martin also injured another woman while trying to hit their true target just before midnight, according to prosecutors. The shooting was the result of a feud that had been heating up for several months until it came to a head that night. 'This defendant is the one who went out on that street corner … where people live, where they work, where they go to school, where they shop, where they celebrate with their families,' Kantas said while sentencing Joiner. 'He is the one who turned that corner into a firing range.' During a double jury trial in March of 2024, Joiner and Martin pointed the finger at each other, each taking the stand in their own defense. Both men grew agitated during the sentencing hearing, with Martin sarcastically clapping when Assistant State's Attorney Emily Stevens finished her arguments. 'You don't know (expletive),' Martin said as Stevens argued to the judge for a maximum punishment. While arguing the same for Joiner, Stevens noted his additional murder conviction and alleged a history of bad behavior in jail, including getting in fights and smuggling in drugs. 'So it's not like he's in here thinking, well I learned my lessons, let me change my ways. No,' she said. 'They fired shot after shot after shot down that street where they knew kids were. And they didn't care.' In Martin's case, Stevens said that a presentence investigation report noted that he liked to 'flip on mattresses and go to the park' as a child. 'Amari didn't get to do that,' she said. But Martin's public defender argued that her client had a traumatic childhood, born at the end of the crack epidemic to a mother who would take Martin out with her while she sold drugs. She asked the judge to consider Martin's age at the time, around 20, adding that law and public policy are evolving around the question of the maturity level of young adults when it comes to committing crimes. 'A young person's character is not as well formed,' she said. Kantas said he did take into account Martin's age, but also the 'violent nature of the offense' and Amari's young age. If he lived, Amari would now be around 17. 'The pain of losing my precious son has been an unbearable burn I have carried,' Hailey said. 'Amari will always be a part of me. His spirit lives on.'
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mobile police horse retires after 8 years of service
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The noble steed, Ghost, is now getting some much-deserved relaxation after eight years of service with the Mobile Police Department. Mobile woman accused of domestic violence, police say 'The department will miss Ghost,' Public Information Officer, Roderick Miles said. Ghost was born and raised at the Angola Prison in Louisiana until he joined the Mobile Police Department in 2017. For the majority of his time in the force, he was partnerless due to his huge personality and stature. 'Ghost was a big boy!' Miles said. That was until he met David Joiner in 2022, and the two immediately clicked. 'He just had some funny little quirks, like getting out of the horse trailer instead of just stepping like a normal horse, he had this little leap that he would do every time,' Joiner said. The gentle giant, who was slightly afraid of sounds like whistles, had a ton of quirks. Together, the two worked out those issues, earning multiple awards. Like the most improved award during a Mardi Gras training camp. 'Almost like a proud dad seeing your kids' overcoming obstacles and struggles,' Joiner said. The two also received a Commander's citation for their work during the deadly 2022 New Year's Eve shooting in Downtown Mobile that killed one and injured nine. 'Just dealing with everyone screaming and all of the chaos going on just being able to jump into action,' Joiner said. After years of hard work and dedication, Joiner is happy to see his 17-year-old partner get the relaxing retirement he deserves. 'I'm excited for him just to be able to retire and go rest easy,' Joiner said. Mobile County woman celebrates 105th birthday Ghost is now at the 10-42 Police Horse Retirement Home in Trenton, Florida. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
