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Visa and Mastercard reach a historic $30 billion settlement, potentially reshaping merchant costs and consumer prices. Critics warn of fleeting relief. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visa and Mastercard, two titans in the payment industry, have reached a historic $30 billion settlement over credit and debit card fees, potentially altering the landscape of merchant costs and consumer prices. This resolution, aimed at curbing swipe fees for U.S. merchants, marks a significant moment in the ongoing battle over interchange fees that began in 2005. Critics, however, argue that the relief may be fleeting, with fees poised to remain high in the long run. The Genesis...

BEAVERTON, Ore. — A group of Beaverton homeowners, facing thousands of dollars in fines from their neighborhood's HOA board, tried to remove their board president from his position — only for the board to change the neighborhood's bylaws the very next day, making it "essentially impossible" to be removed from power. An attorney representing the HOA board told KGW that the homeowners' actions don't represent the entire community, as some people have been pleased with the 'clean-up' of the neighborhood, but the conflict highlights the delicate balance of power between neighborhoods and the associations that run them. Homeowners associations, or...

Late-night host Stephen Colbert could be in legal trouble after he joked about Kate Middleton’s disappearance, saying it was related to the potential affair between her husband, Prince William, and another royal woman. Lawyers for the woman, Marchioness of Cholmondeley Rose Hanbury, issued a cease-and-desist letter to Colbert, ordering him to refrain from publicly connecting their client to William. Hanbury’s attorney, in a statement: “The rumor appears to have entered into the mainstream media recently as a result of another joke made about it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” “We have written on our client’s behalf to CBS...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem (3/27/24)[Prayer]The Names and Titles of God (Judge, lawgiver, and King)Isaiah 33:22:22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.The King James Version__________________________________God Bless America.ML/LTOS

“Can’t anybody here play this game?” Those were the words manager Casey Stengel addressed to the bumbling 1962 New York Mets. But nowadays, it might just as reasonably be addressed to the people who run our biggest and most important institutions. “Get woke, go broke” has been a catchphrase for several years. Yet the people at the top of major corporations and government agencies keep, well, getting woke and going broke. Which makes me wonder why. Harvard, roiled by antisemitism scandals in which woke politics kept administrators from protecting Jewish students, has lost enough in donations that it’s shutting down...

U.S. officials are warning of a major terror attack following the ISIS attacks in Moscow due to the country’s open borders. Islamic State terrorist group ISIS took responsibility for the attack on a Moscow concert hall, which left 139 people dead. Lawmakers fear that the U.S. could be next. The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Mike McCaul, warned America had gone backward and is at massive risk of a jihadist attack.

27 March 2024 Wednesday of Holy Week St. John of Damascus Orthodox Church, Dedham, MA Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: B(II).First readingIsaiah 50:4-9 ©Who thinks he has a case against me? Let him approach meThe Lord has given mea disciple’s tongue.So that I may know how to reply to the weariedhe provides me with speech.Each morning he wakes me to hear,to listen like a disciple.The Lord has opened my ear.For my part, I made no resistance,neither did I turn away.I offered my back to those who struck me,my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;I did not...

Armpit licking, condoms, transgenderism, and socialism are on full display. The year, now a quarter old, reveals that the country’s rapid slide into educational purgatory is moving apace. Leading off the grossness parade is a school in Oklahoma where students lick and suck the armpits and toes of their fellow students in the name of charity. (This may garner a shrug in San Francisco, but Oklahoma?!) While no district personnel were directly involved, video footage from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, OK, showed mid-teens participating in and watching the disgusting events unfold. Getting caught with their pants down—so to...

“Finally.” It’s a word those who’ve spent years sounding the alarm about the plight of higher education have been saying a lot lately. Finally, the thought-policing and groupthink have become undeniable. Finally, the cost of toxic dogmas is coming clear. Finally, the bloat and cartel-like behavior is being seen for what it is. The train-wreck congressional testimony by the leaders of some of the nation’s most prestigious universities, the blatant and unrepentant campus antisemitism on display, and the laughably hypocritical double standards applied to speech have illustrated the problems in higher education, even for voters and policymakers who have neither...

AFlorida sheriff responded to the criticism and praise he has received for his viral comments about encouraging citizens to use the kill shot against home invaders. During a press conference in April 2022, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said, "If someone is breaking into your house, you're more than welcome to shoot. We prefer you to do that, actually." The comments have gone viral again in juxtaposition to a story in New York where a woman was arrested for trying to remove squatters from her property. Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview that he stands by his...

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A federal lawsuit pits green energy against saving endangered whales, as three conservative groups are suing the Biden administration to stop what they say would be the largest wind energy project in the world. The Virginia Offshore Wind project could cause significant harm to the North Atlantic right whale, according to the 61-page complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia filed by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), the Heartland Institute and the National Legal and Policy Center against federal agencies as well as Dominion Energy. The lawsuit names the Interior Department, the Commerce Department, the...

According to USA Today the crew on the MV Dali lost control of the vessel and reported that to Maryland Department of Transportation officials just before it collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. “The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel” and a collision with the bridge “was possible,” according to an unclassified Department of Homeland Security report. “The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.” We're also learning more about what happened in the lead-up to the collision and collapse. Clay Diamond, executive director of the American...

“I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, and that absolutely includes protecting the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.

My tax return is being held so the IRS can review it. The letter says they want to verify several things including “Itemized Deductions”! I use the standard deduction. I’m guessing it has to do with my voter registration as a republican. Anyone else experiencing this? Cheers!

“But Jesus answered and said, ‘You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to Him, ‘We are able’” (Matthew 20:22). Selfish ambition in spiritual things shows that we are ignorant of the real path to God’s glory. Yesterday we saw that James and John, with their mother, posed a bold power-play question to the Lord Jesus. Now, as He answers them, they display another attitude at odds with the humble spirit: selfish ambition. If the brothers’ power-play request was brazen, it was also very...

The Government is going to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, will update the Cabinet that he has directed officials to prepare a Declaration of Intervention. If approved by the Government, this will be filed at the court in The Hague for the case against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention. It is not clear yet what points of law Ireland will reply upon for its intervention. …

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, Religious Freedom and the Media. "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1-2) Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

Anna's due date is in June. She is having a problem pregnancy with that sent her to E.R. She was released from E.R. without resolving the cause for bleeding. She also is working from home and caring for her 7,5,and 3 year old. We try to help but need your prayers.

The owner of the Singapore-flagged ship that rammed into a Baltimore bridge could face hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims after the accident sent vehicles plunging into the water and threw the eastern US transportation network into chaos. But legal experts said there is a path for reducing liability under an obscure 19th-century law once invoked by the owner of the Titanic to limit its payout for the 1912 sinking. At the centre of the legal fallout will be Singapore-based Grace Ocean, owner of the container ship Dali that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March...