It Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking âď¸
Reuters: Biden, 81, pulls out of presidential race
July 21, 1:52 PM ⢠Updated 4 mins ago
By Jeff Mason, Jarrett Renshaw and Kanishka SinghU.S. President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign on Sunday after fellow Democrats lost faith in his mental acuity and ability to beat Donald Trump, leaving the presidential race in uncharted territory.
Guardian: Sonia Sodha: Yes, five years in jail is too harsh, but the Just Stop Oil Five shouldnât have done it
Their champions say that the urgency of their crusade â to stop the world from extracting and burning fossil fuels by 2030 â justifies their planned actions. Roger Hallam, the ringleader who received the five-year sentence, has lauded himself as the most influential environmentalist since David Attenborough and compared himself to Martin Luther King. There is a legal precedent for allowing protesters to plead conscience as a defence against charges, and to treat it as a mitigating factor in sentencing, but in this case the judge declined to do both. The courts have been clear that leniency is conditional: “A sense of proportion on the part of the offenders in avoiding excessive damage or inconvenience is matched by a relatively benign approach to sentencing.” The judge argued that their conspiracy to cause extreme disruption, and the risk of harm including to the emergency services, excluded them from consideration for reduced culpability or lower sentencing. He also pointed to other aggravating factors including the fact all were on bail for other charges when they committed the offence. (All have previous convictions.)
Guardian: Labour urged to follow through on Toriesâ promised ÂŁ100m gambling levy
The Conservatives published a white paper on reform of gambling regulation last year but many of its proposals have been left up in the air by Labour’s election victory.
One significant measure yet to be finalised is a statutory levy on gambling companies' revenues to fund research into problem gambling, education and treatment.
InsideEVs: Tesla Is Losing Ground In The U.S. And Europe: Here’s Why
It doesn’t seem to be a good year for Tesla. After the record results of 2023âwhen it was the most popular EV manufacturer with the best-selling vehicle in the worldâ2024 isn’t nearly as robust. The latest data collected by JATO Dynamics for the first half of this year shows Tesla losing ground in both the United States and Europe, where sales fell by 8 percent and 13 percent respectively.
WashPo: How Barbie’s creator made a lewd doll into a toy that inspired a movie
25.May.2023
The real transformation, however, was in the dollâs personality. With the help of a market researcher, Mattel transformed the doll from a vaguely pornographic male fantasy â âa high heel away from being prostitute,â as Robin Gerber, the author of âBarbie and Ruth,â put it â into the middle-class, girl-next-door fashion genius we know today.
Mattel finally bought all patents and copyrights to Bild Lilli in 1964, completing the dollâs transformation.
Last Updated: 21.Jul.2024 14:53 EDT
