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A federal jury has awarded $687,000 to a research scientist who was fired from BlueCross BlueShield in Tennessee for refusing to comply with the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.Tanja Benton, who had worked 16 years at the firm when she was fired, was awarded $177,240 in back pay, $10,000 in compensation, and $500,000 in punitive damages, according to a document made public by the federal court in eastern Tennessee on June 30.Company officials told Ms. Benton in August of 2021 that she would need to be “fully vaccinated” to keep her position, according to her lawsuit. Ms. Benton refused, saying aborted...

Kamala Harris is poised to take Joe Biden’s place if he drops out of the presidential race — in part because she’s the only person who can take control of the Democrats $240 million war chest, sources told The Post. Many prominent Democrats are waiting in the wings to take the ailing 81-year-old’s place, but the quarter billion Biden-Harris have raised is non-transferrable, campaign finance sources told The Post. “Biden has two real choices: Kamala inherits; or they transfer it all to the DNC,” Signum Global partners Rob Casey told The Post. “That money would all be accessed by Kamala…...

2:23 PM · Jul 1, 2024 · 7.1M Views _________________________ French woman pleads for help: "I am 26 years old, blonde, with light eyes, and I have always lived in the 6th arrondissement of Lyon, which is thought of as the poshest area in Lyon, and my daily life has become unbearable. I write this because, ten years ago, I could go out with my friends in the evening, at any hour, without being bothered, insulted, followed, or stabbed. I mention stabbing because, three years ago, my boyfriend, along with two of his friends, on their way home, were approached...

Governments owe an unprecedented $91 trillion, an amount almost equal to the size of the global economy and one that will ultimately exact a heavy toll on their populations. Debt burdens have grown so large — in part because of the cost of the pandemic — that they now pose a growing threat to living standards even in rich economies, including the United States. Yet, in a year of elections around the world, politicians are largely ignoring the problem, unwilling to level with voters about the tax increases and spending cuts needed to tackle the deluge of borrowing. In some...

A cancer-stricken elderly man and two others were allegedly beaten by an angry anti-Israel mob after they started livestreaming an “anarchist bookfair” event at a North Carolina library. Monica Buckley, David Moritz and Bob Campbell claim they were physically attacked by roughly two dozen people after sitting in on a “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance” seminar at the West Asheville Public Library in Asheville on Saturday, WPDE reported. The trio allege the crowd suddenly turned on them when an attendee noticed the talk — organized by the “Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair” — was being filmed and streamed on social...

Greece has controversially introduced a six-day working week for some businesses in a bid to boost productivity and employment in the southern European country. The regulation, which came into force on July 1, bucks a global trend of companies exploring a shorter working week. Under the new legislation, which was passed as part of a broader set of labor laws last year, employees of private businesses that provide round-the-clock services will reportedly have the option of working an additional two hours per day or an extra eight-hour shift. The change means a traditional 40-hour workweek could be extended to 48...

Rather than splurging on impulsive purchases, China’s young are saving ferociously as the world’s second-largest economy remains in the doldrums. ...A 26-year-old with username ‘Little Zhai Zhai’ is detailing her attempt to cap her monthly spending at just 300 Chinese yuan ($41.28) a month, with a recent video showing how she curtailed her daily meal expenses to just 10 yuan ($1.38). Others are finding “savings partners” on social media. These partners form a savings circle that ensures its members stick with their goals. Savings measures also include dining at community canteens usually for the elderly, where fresh meals are sold...

READ MORE: The insurance on my 2012 Mazda went up 72% to $233 a month!' A prominent insurance provider has aired an ultimatum to the entire state of California. The firm, State Farm General, asked the state’s Department of Insurance Thursday to let them raise residential insurance rates for millions of citizens, or see them move out. The move indicates financial trouble for the insurance giant, which currently covers homes razed by wildfires. State Farm disclosed it is seeking a 30 percent rate hike for homeowners, a 36 percent increase for condo owners, and a 52 percent increase for renters...

McDonald's has given up on its bid to sell meat-free beef burger in America. US president Joe Erlinger has said the McPlant has been ditched because customers did not want fake meat. The chain had been testing the McPlant at several hundred restaurants in California and Texas since trials began in late 2021. Developed with Beyond Meat, it was made from pea and rice proteins. While it has flopped in the US, it has been a hit in the UK, Germany, Holland and Portugal. But there is little chance of a return to America. McDonald's is now shifting its focus...

Biden campaign donors are giving the president a two-week grace period in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump, The Post has learned. Any decline in the 81-year-old president’s polling numbers after those two weeks are up will become problematic and difficult for donors to stomach, a source privy to a call with top campaign contributors on Monday told The Post. The Democratic National Finance Committee tamped down speculation that Biden could end his re-election bid during an hour-plus long Zoom call intended to put top donors at ease. “The call was very reassuring,” the...

President Joe Biden made his first major appearance since his panic-inspiring debate performance Monday to give brief remarks on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision that was released earlier in the day. Biden spoke for five minutes, from a teleprompter, on the court finding that presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for “official acts” taken in office. After Biden criticized the decision, calling it a “dangerous precedent,” he quickly left without taking a single question as reporters shouted inquiries his way. “Mr. President, will you drop out of the race?” one reporter can be heard shouting. Another seemingly asked how...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration proposed a new rule Tuesday to address excessive heat in the workplace, as tens of millions of people in the U.S. are under heat advisories due to blistering temperatures. If finalized, the measure would protect an estimated 36 million U.S. workers from injuries related to heat exposure on the job — establishing the first major federal safety standard of its kind. Those affected by excessive heat in the workplace include farmworkers, delivery and construction workers, landscapers and indoor workers in warehouses, factories and kitchens. Under the proposed rule, employers would be required to identify...

A federal court lifted the Biden administration’s pause on approvals for new natural gas export terminals on Monday. Judge James Cain Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, who was appointed to his post by former President Donald Trump, ruled to grant an injunction against the administration’s January pause on approvals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals while ongoing litigation plays out. The LNG pause stands as one of President Joe Biden’s most aggressive climate decisions through his first term in office. Cain’s ruling was issued as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by...

For years, conservatives have railed against what they call the “administrative state” and denounced regulations. But let’s be clear. When they speak of the “administrative state,” they’re talking about agencies tasked with protecting the public from corporations that seek profits at the expense of the health, safety, and pocketbooks of average Americans. Regulations are the means by which agencies translate broad legal mandates into practical guardrails. Substitute the word “protection” for “regulation” and you get a more accurate picture of who has benefited — consumers, workers, and average people needing clean air and clean water..... Make no mistake: Consumers, workers,...

Former BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) employee Tanja Benton has been awarded over $680,000 by a Tennessee federal jury following a verdict that the insurer failed to offer reasonable accommodation for her religious beliefs. The jury concluded that BCBST “did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence either that it had offered a reasonable accommodation to Plaintiff or that it could not reasonably accommodate the Plaintiff’s religious beliefs without undue hardship.” The total damages awarded to Benton amounted to $687,240, which included $177,240 in back pay, $10,000 in compensatory damages, and $500,000 in punitive damages. In a related case,...

Former President Trump leads President Joe Biden by six points in the probability of winning the popular vote in November, Nate Silver’s election model forecasted June 30 after the first presidential debate. The last Republican to win the popular vote was George W. Bush in 2004 with 50.73 percent. Silver’s election model’s forecast is the first time it predicted Trump would defeat Biden with the popular vote. Trump was previously behind by two points one day before the debate, the forecast predicted.

Candu Energy, an AtkinsRéalis company, has signed a framework agreement to help Poland install six small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) as an alternative to coal-fired power stations. Canada-headquarted AtkinsRéalis, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin, said it has also teamed up with Canadian contractor Aecon, and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) to deploy the Polish fleet of GEH’s BWRX-300 reactors. Their agreements are with Polish energy developer Orlen-Synthos Green Energy (OSGE). If OSGE proceeds with the SMR plan, AtkinsRéalis could provide front-end engineering and consulting to install them at six proposed sites in Poland. Already happening in Canada In Canada, AtkinsRéalis, Aecon,...

In 2018, a study of aerial photos of 700 Pacific Islands showed that 89% were the same size or growing. This rather destroyed the idea that sea levels were swallowing small nations. The New York Times said nothing. Indeed, the only Pacific things shrinking were deserted sand drifts. No islands bigger than 10 hectares were getting smaller. Measured in square kilometers that’s “0.1”. Despite the media headlines and delegations from Kiribati and Tuvulu begging for money to hold back the tide, no islands with people living on them were shrinking. None, not one island in the Pacific big enough to...

Another Boeing whistleblower has come forward, saying that he witnessed 787 Dreamliner planes being built in a manner that could lead to a "catastrophe down the line." Richard Cuevas was a Strom airplane mechanic who used to work as a contractor for Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems. In a complaint filed by his lawyers to the FAA, Cuevas said Spirit AeroSystems workers were drilling holes into the fasteners of the plane's forward pressure bulkhead, which were bigger than what Boeing had specified. In March, a few months after he reported his findings to Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, he was fired from...

State Farm recently requested its largest home insurance rate increase to date, a move that would worsen the insurance crisis in California but also signaled that the company may be in financial trouble. State Farm General, the company’s California subsidiary, recently submitted a request to the California Department of Insurance to raise insurance rates for homeowners, condo owners and renters in the Golden State.