All posts tagged: days

We’ve become a failed nation-state in 150 days

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Donald Trump made his personal transformation of the White House nearly complete Wednesday morning. He already announced his intentions to add a ballroom — “the biggest and best ever” — to the East Wing and has begun paving over the lawn of Jackie Kennedy’s iconic Rose Garden. (“It’ll be like nothing anyone has ever seen before,” he promised.) Now he’s installed two giant flagpoles, one on the North Lawn and the other on the South Lawn. The two flagpoles, he posted on Truth Social, are “tall, tapered, rust proof” and of the “highest quality.” On Wednesday he said they were “beautiful poles” and “the best poles anywhere. . . in the world actually.” A few reporters, members of Congress and even some White House staff made the obvious snarky comments about “over-compensating” and “wishful thinking.” But the observation offered by a few who said that, with the oversized flags, Trump had turned the White House into a “used car lot” seems most accurate. At this point, your honors, the prosecution humbly suggests we are …

12 Days in Trump’s America

Published by Sam

[ad_1] This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Here’s a fact that might surprise you: Only 12 days have passed since the catastrophic meltdown of the relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump—since the ousted Dogefather attempted to kill the president’s signature legislation, endorsed his impeachment, and claimed that Trump appeared in the “Epstein files.” That weird day of rubbernecking, alternatively terrifying and transfixing, was just June 5, but it feels like forever ago to me—largely because so much news has occurred since then. So much is happening that even Musk’s attempted rapprochement with Trump, customized hat in hand, barely made a ripple. Let’s review the tape. The next day, ICE officers began conducting raids in Los Angeles. As word of the raids spread, demonstrators filled the streets of Los Angeles to protest and confront federal agents. That evening, an important moment occurred in another immigration-related …

I tried using a massage gun for 30 days and it’s now an essential part of my muscle recovery

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] In my job as a personal trainer I’m always being asked by clients how to get rid of muscle soreness. My usual response is to tell them to eat lots of protein, drink a ton of water and get plenty of rest, but many of them also ask if a massage gun will help reduce stiffness. Massage guns use pressure and vibration to increase blood flow, which means that more tissue-repairing oxygen and nutrients get to the muscles to help them recover quicker and reduce inflammation. These portable handheld devices can also be used to reduce stress and anxiety, as well as boost feelings of wellbeing and relaxation. You may like I got my hands on the Bob and Brad M7 Plus Mini massage gun, one of the more affordable massage guns and tried it out for 30 days. Bob and Brad M7 Plus Mini massage gun My experience using a massage gun for 30 days (Image credit: Maddy Biddulph / Future) It’s great for pain relief I’m a reluctant gardener, but when my …

Vladimir Putin’s top security adviser vanishes just days after Moscow Victory Day parade | World | News

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Vladimir Putin’s top security official has vanished during efforts to end the war in Ukraine, amid swirling health rumours and claims he could be caught up in a corruption probe. Sergei Shoigu, 69, is a Russian army general and currently the secretary of the powerful Russian Security Council. He served as defence minister for most of the war in Ukraine before being replaced one year ago, and is a very well-known member of Putin’s entourage. Speculation is swirling in Moscow after he missed the Red Square parade on Friday amid claims his absence was health-related. But an explanation that he was undergoing a “routine medical examination” at a “sanatorium” was not seen as plausible. No top Russian official would have a “routine” health check on the most important day in the country’s calendar. Nezygar Telegram politics channel said his daughter Ksenia, 34, had “searched for her father for a long time but couldn’t find him on Red Square”. Previously, holders of the national security post have always attended. One theory is that Putin, 72, …

Nostalgia for the early days of parenting

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] “Cherish it while you can” is hard advice to follow for many new parents. Richard Baker / Getty May 10, 2025, 10:19 AM ET This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. Older parents are constantly telling those in the early days to cherish it: It goes by in a flash. But that can be very hard advice to follow when you’re in the thick of it, as Stephanie H. Murray wrote in 2022. Ultimately, all a parent can do is “keep an eye out for the precious moments amid the tumult and chaos,” one mother Murray spoke with told her. “Do what you can to imprint them in your memory—write them down, or share them with friends. Collect them like gems, so that when your arms are finally free and your eyes are a little clearer, you can turn them over in your hand.” …

‘Warfare’ Re-Created One of the Worst Days of Its Co-Director’s Life

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] This article includes spoilers for the film Warfare. Since 2012, Ray Mendoza has been building a hefty Hollywood résumé: performing stunts, choreographing gunfights, and teaching movie stars how to act like soldiers in films such as Act of Valor and Lone Survivor. He also helped design the battle sequences in last year’s Civil War, the writer-director Alex Garland’s speculative thriller imagining America as an endless combat zone. These projects have been a particularly good fit for him. Mendoza is a former Navy SEAL; two decades ago, during the Iraq War, he was part of a platoon scouting a residential area in Ramadi. One day in November 2006, al-Qaeda forces injured two of his teammates and then exploded an IED while American soldiers attempted to extract the pair. Trapped in a single building, the group waited for a new convoy of rescue tanks that wouldn’t arrive for hours. The events are depicted in the film Warfare, now streaming, which Mendoza wrote and directed with Garland. Over the course of a brisk 95 minutes, the viewer …

I followed this flexibility routine for 30 days after a physical therapist recommended it—here’s why it’s the perfect antidote to my desk job

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Stiffness is a common ailment in the modern world. Our desk jobs and endless phone scrolling can lead to all kinds of aches and pains. “The most common areas of joint stiffness are the back, hips and knees,” Christynne Helfrich, physical therapist at Hinge Health tells Fit&Well. “But any joint can become stiff, from your fingers to your hands and wrists—even your elbows and ankles!” You may like Stiffness is particularly common in older people, as our bodies produce less synovial fluid as we age (the lubricant that keeps joints moving smoothly). But Helrich says younger people can have poor mobility, too, especially if they don’t move and stretch frequently. The best medicine to combat everyday stiffness is regular movement, so I asked Helrich to suggest five stretches that target common problem areas for people. I then did these stretches religiously for 30 days and was impressed with how it impacted my flexibility. Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox. Five stretches to combat everyday stiffness …

Two days to go! Book Humanists UK Convention tickets before Friday’s deadline!

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Act fast! General ticket sales for an unmissable Humanists UK Convention 2025 end this Friday, 2 May, at 23:59 – and we have fewer than ten tickets remaining. Join hundreds of humanists from across the UK in Sheffield from 13–15 June for a weekend buzzing with ideas, debate, and connection. Book now, before it’s too late: humanists.uk/convention2025. Sheffield’s Octagon Centre will host the UK’s biggest annual humanist gathering – a vibrant mix of science, politics, culture, and comedy. Expect challenging talks, lively discussions, and a unique chance to meet fellow humanists exploring today’s biggest questions from a rational, compassionate perspective. Explore critical contemporary issues with leading minds: hear New York Times bestselling author Katherine Stewart on threats to democracy; physicist Dr Helen Czerski on our planet’s oceans; happiness economist Professor Lord Richard Layard on wellbeing; author Will Storr on the psychology of status; tech entrepreneur Sara Wahedi on human-centred tech for good; and Dr Azeem Ibrahim OBE on the rise of authoritarianism. Plus, expect compelling contributions from philosopher Professor Richard Norman, journalist Ian Dunt, …

New Polling Shows How Many People Hate Trump’s First 100 Days. What About the Next Thousand?

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Donald Trump stormed back into power in January insisting he had a historic “mandate” to enact his extreme agenda. That was a dubious claim from the start. But, to the extent it was ever true, his mandate has largely evaporated over the course of his first 100 days in office. A majority of Americans regard Donald Trump as a “dangerous dictator,” according to a new survey by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute. After 100 days in office, the president’s approval rating has tanked as he bleeds support on the two most salient issues of his successful 2024 campaign: the economy and immigration. And, according to a new NPR/PBS/Marist poll, twice as many Americans give Trump an “F” grade over an “A” for how he’s handled the first 100 days in office. “Every single day is becoming increasingly worse,” as Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, summarized Trump’s first hundred days. “It’s bringing a whole host of folks who weren’t necessarily with us three months ago into this chorus of resistance,” he …

What has DOGE done in Trump’s first 100 days? : NPR

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Elon Musk wielding a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 20, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Md. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Andrew Harnik/Getty Images When President Trump returned to the White House in January, he promised to “restore competence and effectiveness” to the federal government by establishing a Department of Government Efficiency. In the lead-up to his inauguration, DOGE evolved from a meme to an outside commission to a White House office given carte blanche to upend the executive branch in the name of combating perceived waste, fraud and abuse. A small cadre of software engineers and others with connections to billionaire Elon Musk quickly fanned out across federal agencies, where they have encouraged the firing of tens of thousands of federal employees, overseen the effective dismantling of agencies, slashed spending on foreign food aid, medical research and basic office supplies and burrowed into multiple sensitive data systems. Last week, Musk said he would spend less time on DOGE and focus on Tesla, as the 130-day clock on …