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People want these benefits and offering them will help a small business owner attract more and better workers – plus, the plans cost less“Unlimited paid time off? Are you kidding me?” That’s what I usually hear when I suggest this type of benefit to my clients. When an employer, particularly a small employer, hears “unlimited” they automatically think that their employees can be paid all year for doing nothing.Of course that’s ridiculous. Unlimited paid time off (PTO) plans are becoming a “top emerging benefit” according to a 2019 study by the insurance firm MetLife and are already a significant part of the benefit offerings for many larger corporations. Some 72% of the 2,675 full-time employees surveyed in the MetLife study expressed interest in receiving unlimited paid time off. Continue reading...

The scariest thing about lockdown is the loss of the feeling that something fun is always happening somewhere elseThe Duke of Edinburgh’s return to Windsor last week made me think how much I’d love to visit a castle. Prince Philip’s probably a bit less enthusiastic about it, for the combined reasons of his infirmity and his enormous familiarity with Windsor Castle. No change is as bad as no rest, as we’re all finding.I’m telling myself that lots of trips to castles will be on the cards for me as soon as things open up a bit. I love castles, particularly ruined castles, as the non-ruined ones have usually been ruined – often by the Victorians’ attempts to make them look more authentically like the vision of medieval life that Walt Disney hadn’t yet been bothered to be born and imagine; but sometimes by the attempts of aristocrats in the 1950s to continue living in them with reasonable comfort despite the onslaught of new welfare state-induced taxation levels, and in advance of the approaching constraints of listed building status. So plenty of little electric fires and asbestos amid the arrow slits. I remember a room at Sudeley Castle that looked like someone had taken a fitted kitchen from Howards’ Way and fired it at a baronial location from an Errol Flynn movie. Continue reading...

The bill’s passage may be the party’s best chances of avoiding a historical trend and keeping control of both chambers of Congress after next year’s electionsJust days after signing the $1.9tn coronavirus relief package into law, Joe Biden was on the road selling the benefits of the bill to the American people – and also to his own party’s political prospects.The president kicked off his “Help is Here” tour last Tuesday, visiting a Black-owned flooring business in Chester, Pennsylvania. “We’re in a position where it’s going to bring immediate relief – $1,400 – to 85% of the American public,” Biden said as he toured Smith Flooring. “And I think you should be aware: more help is on the way, for real.” Continue reading...

Aides and allies say it is too early to define the vice-president’s portfolio but she is unlikely to be confined to just one subject areaWhite House aides and allies stress it’s still too early to define the type of portfolio Kamala Harris will have as vice-president. They bristle at the suggestion that Harris would be confined to one project or focus on just one subject area, as some previous vice-presidents were pegged to do.But over the last week, the former California senator has once again taken on an increasingly familiar mantle: top surrogate for promoting the Biden administration’s agenda. Continue reading...

A recent poll reported 49% of Republican men saying they won’t get the shot as mixed messaging persists among conservativesNothing will change Ron Holloway’s mind when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccine: he’s not going to get it.Related: Covid vaccine side-effects: what to know and why you shouldn't worry Continue reading...

It’s a step forward that Uber drivers must now be treated as employees, but there’s still a long road to travelPutting the brakes on the gig economy is a good thing. Bingeing on something commonly makes you feel ill. But in the case of the stratospheric growth in online services and the deleterious effect of this on stressed-out, poorly paid workers, overindulging makes others sick.From Australia to Canada, Chile, Brazil and much of Europe, gig economy firms have faced legal action, government enforcement or both as countries try to improve the rights of their workers. Continue reading...

After killings that followed a year of escalating hatred, Asian Americans ask why no one heeded the warnings

The president does not just share Irish roots with John, Robert and Ted Kennedy – he also wants to lead America in the worldIt was a popular Washington sport: find the past president who best explained Donald Trump. There was a touch of Andrew Jackson’s populism, a dash of Richard Nixon’s skulduggery, a sprinkling of Ronald Reagan’s myth-making. But now all that is over, who are the closest matches to Joe Biden?Related: Lucky review: how Biden beat Trump – and doubters like Obama and Hillary Continue reading...

A gallery bearing the architect’s name also seeks to obliterate it. A fellow gay Ohioan, I hold his youthful outrages forgivableWhether you’re me or the Duchess of Sussex, to be Black is to always be negotiating around the bias of others. Racism is omnipresent. White supremacy is the west’s original sin.Related: This is the Fire review: Don Lemon's audacious study of racism – and love Continue reading...

Observers call for caution with highly contagious UK variant present in 31 countiesThe US is turning a corner on Covid, with 2m vaccination shots administered each day since early March. But some states are facing worrying rises of both regular cases and cases of virus variants.Related: 'People are champing at the bit': California is reopening – but how fast is too fast? Continue reading...

The creator of the rapidly growing ‘Sabmyk Network’ is said to be a Berlin art dealer with a record of media manipulationThe mysterious individual behind a new and rapidly growing online disinformation network targeting followers of QAnon, the far-right cult, can be revealed as a Berlin-based artist with a history of social media manipulation, a prominent anti-racism group claims.Since Donald Trump left the White House, QAnon’s vast online community has been in a state of flux as it comes to terms with the reality that its conspiracy theories – such as the former US president being destined to defeat a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles – amount to nothing. Continue reading...

Sean Lannon is accused of killing a man he says abused him in childhood and is a person of interest in four other deathsA man accused of killing a New Jersey man he says sexually abused him in childhood, and who is a person of interest in the deaths of his ex-wife and three other people in New Mexico, claims to be responsible for 16 deaths in all, prosecutors said.Sean Lannon, 47, said he was responsible for the killings in New Jersey and New Mexico and claimed he had killed “11 other individuals”, NJ.com quoted Alec Gutierrez, an assistant prosecutor in Gloucester county, as saying at a detention hearing on Friday. Continue reading...

Google describes Richard Grenell, ex-intelligence chief and possible candidate for California governor, as ‘president since 2021’Richard Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence turned potential Republican candidate for governor of California, gleefully seized on an error by Google on Saturday, promising “a plethora of executive orders” after the search giant listed him as “President of the United States since 2021”.Related: Biden 'doing fine' after stumbling once, twice, thrice on steps of Air Force One Continue reading...

Surveillance video has emerged showing the shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long leaving Young's massage parlour in Acworth, Georgia, which was attacked on Wednesday. Long has been charged with allegedly killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage businesses in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community. He told police the attack was not racially motivated, claiming to have a 'sex addiction'

Texas senator tells rightwing group Republicans must block For the People Act or lose power for yearsClaiming Democrats want to expand voting rights to “illegal aliens” and “child molesters”, the Texas senator Ted Cruz warned that if Republicans do not block the For the People Act, major legislation now before the Senate, they will be out of power for years.Related: Texas Republicans pushing slate of bills to make voting even harder in state Continue reading...

When police tell us the man who confessed to killing eight people around Atlanta was having ‘a bad day’ it goes way beyond one cop making an idiotic comment Continue reading...

Interior secretary wears sky-blue ribbon skirt, dragonfly earrings and a turquoise bead necklace to honor her heritageDeb Haaland made sure she was making history in style.From head to toe, Biden’s new interior secretary dressed in pieces that honored her Native American heritage when she was sworn in on Thursday: a sky-blue ribbon skirt adorned with embroidered images of butterflies, stars and corn along with moccasin boots, dragonfly earrings and a turquoise bead necklace. Continue reading...

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris offered solace to Asian Americans and a reeling nation on Friday as they visited Atlanta just days after a white gunman killed eight people, most of them Asian American women. The visit, during a nationwide spike of anti-Asian violence, has added resonance with the presence of Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to hold national office

Musk lives in an alternate reality of relentless self-branding and self-congratulationElon Musk has declared himself Technoking of Tesla. It’s a fitting title for a man with feudal aspirations. He already has a history of poor labor practices, and generally displays a vast amount of hubris relative to his own actual personal productivity. He is no doubt an excellent businessman – and showman – but remains greatly undeserving of the cult of personality that surrounds his alleged genius. In reality Musk is an egotistical demagogue who has amassed too much power, and poses a danger to the future of workers.

Most can finally go to the gym or the movies again. But health experts say caution is essential to prevent future lockdownsFor the first time in more than a year, the vast majority of Californians can dine indoors, go to the gym, catch a movie at their local theater or attend a religious service.The mood in the state has been buoyant in recent weeks, as case numbers continue a dramatic decline and major cities lift rules that have been among the strictest and longest-lasting in the country. Continue reading...

The high-profile response from local leaders reflects a change in a state where Asian American voices have been historically unheardOn Monday morning, the day before a 21-year-old white man killed six Asian women and two others in the Atlanta metropolitan area, Dr Michelle Au, who became Georgia’s first state senator of east Asian descent only months ago, stood to address her colleagues at the state capitol.She spoke of the spitting, stabbing, punching and other acts of violence aimed at Asian Americans in the last year, including incidents in Georgia. She told her colleagues that “otherization, exoticization … and racism against Asian Americans are not new,” and spoke of the difficulty in changing these conditions “when … voices like yours are not always heard.” Continue reading...

Witnessing the dashing of other people’s hopes is fascinating. Experiencing my own dashed hopes is, strangely, less soAwards ceremonies are absurd and frivolous, and people say that as if it’s a bad thing. Some children stay up late on Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa Claus. The only night of the year I stayed awake as a kid was Oscars night, waiting to see just how annoyed Barbra Streisand would look when The Prince Of Tides lost to The Silence Of The Lambs in 1992’s Best Film category (answer: very). The losers’ determination to cling on to some shred of dignity by their tightly clenched teeth (“It was an honour just to be nominated!!!”); the winners’ giddy abandonment of all dignity when they get up on stage (“To all my fellow dreamers out there – sob – you can make it happen, too!”): you can’t write better melodrama.And it’s not just the Oscars. Like a gambler who will bet on the weather if he can’t get into the casino, I love all awards ceremonies: the Booker, the Turner, the Brits. I like watching other people’s emotional dramas play out in a glamorous setting. Witnessing the dashing of other people’s hopes is fascinating. Experiencing my own dashed hopes is, strangely, less so. Continue reading...

Before Andrew Cuomo became enveloped in two scandals, there were David Paterson and Eliot Spitzer’s scandals“The governor’s health is fine, but he is going to resign within the hour.”Those are the words that Hillary Clinton, then a senator from New York, heard over the phone in a 2008 call announcing the imminent downfall of the sitting governor, Eliot Spitzer, in a prostitution and alleged money laundering scandal. Continue reading...

Statistics gathered by the FBI are often categorized by a single motivation – and no data is collected on sex worker violenceOf the eight people killed in Atlanta spas on Wednesday, six of them were Asian women. The police claim it is too soon to know if the suspect was motivated by racial hatred, focusing instead on the idea that the massage parlors were a “temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate”.This, of course, ignores the possibility that someone might be motivated by racial hatred and sexism. Continue reading...

We would get shut down if we were spying, says boss of electric car maker, after reports about security concerns in BeijingTesla chief executive Elon Musk says his company would be shut down if its cars were used to spy, his first comments on news that China’s military has banned Teslas from its facilities.“There’s a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information,” Musk told a prominent Chinese forum during a virtual discussion on Saturday. “If Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, we will get shut down.” Continue reading...

The ex-president has spent his time out of office attacking Republicans who dare to criticize him – and it could cause trouble for the party in the midtermsDays after being acquitted in his second impeachment trial last month, Donald Trump issued a statement lashing out against one of the very Republican senators who made that acquittal possible.“The Republican party can never again be respected or strong with political ‘leaders’ like Senator Mitch McConnell at its helm,” the former president said in a statement, after the Republican leader criticized him for inciting the 6 January insurrection at the Capitol. Trump added: “Mitch is a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again.” Continue reading...

As unaccompanied children reach the US, Republicans seek political gain. The White House has a fight on its handsLauded for his human touch, Joe Biden is facing an early political and moral test over how his government treats thousands of migrant children who make the dangerous journey to America alone.Related: Is there a crisis at the border? Advocates in Texas say it's 'political manipulation' Continue reading...

The discovery of 329 people, including 114 unaccompanied minors, shows people are ignoring Joe Biden’s call to stay at homeThree trailer trucks packed with hundreds of migrants have been found in Mexico in the latest sign that many would-be immigrants are ignoring calls from Joe Biden not to risk trying to enter the United States.Mexican migration agents along with national guard police said they stopped the trucks early on Thursday near the border with Guatemala as part of routine checks and discovered 329 Guatemalans and Hondurans inside, including 114 unaccompanied minors. Continue reading...

Names of remaining victims released as more details emerge from family and friendsAuthorities have named all of the victims of the Atlanta spa shootings, as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris visited in Atlanta to meet with local Asian American leaders and offered support to a grieving community.The Fulton county medical examiner’s office on Friday updated the list of shooting victims with the names of four women that had not been previously released. The eight who were killed on Tuesday have now been identified as: Continue reading...

President and vice-president address nation reckoning with ‘heinous act’ that killed eight, including six women of Asian descentJoe Biden and Kamala Harris have condemned a “heinous act of violence” during a trip to Atlanta, hoping to console a city and Asian American communities rocked by the attack this week that left eight people dead and one injured.Delivering remarks on Friday evening at Emory University after a day spent meeting with Asian American community leaders and politicians, the president and vice-president spoke out forcefully against the shooting, in which six of the victims were women of Asian descent, as well as the rise in anti-Asian violence. Continue reading...

White House spokesperson blames windy weather after Biden loses his footing three times boarding presidential planeSupporters of Joe Biden were tempting fate when they claimed he had not put a foot wrong during his first two months in office.Related: US reaches 100m Covid vaccine milestone six weeks early as Fauci urges vigilance – live Continue reading...

Video of an injured and crying Xiao Zhen Xie standing on a street corner prompted thousands to share messages and donateThe GoFundMe pages for two elderly, Asian victims of assault in San Francisco have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors around the world, as the US reels from the Atlanta shootings that killed eight people, including six Asian women.A day after the Atlanta shootings, Xiao Zhen Xie, 75, was standing at a San Francisco intersection, waiting to cross the street, when a white man ran up to her and punched her face. In a video of the incident, Xie points to the wooden plank she used to strike back at him. Footage of her sobbing, holding a cold pack up to her bleeding eye as police apprehend her assailant struck a raw nerve, as the country contends with a surge of anti-Asian attacks. Continue reading...

Grant died at Gold Spa and one of her two sons said she was ‘one of my best friends and the strongest influence on who we are today’Hyun Jung Grant, 51, was an elementary school teacher in Korea before coming to the US, according to her son. Grant was identified by the Fulton County medical examiner’s office as one of the victims killed in the Atlanta shootings on Tuesday.Related: Paul Andre Michels: 'very good-hearted' handyman killed in Atlanta shootings Continue reading...

Openings of summits are often dull affairs, but the tense exchanges in Alaska hint at turbulent times aheadIn a protracted, unplanned public spat in Anchorage late on Thursday, China and America’s top diplomats traded barbs for over an hour in front of astonished journalists.The openings to diplomatic summits are usually dull and carefully choreographed, a showcase for the world’s cameras before the doors close and the real talks begin. Continue reading...

Tan, the owner of Youngs Asian Massage in Acworth, had lived ‘the American dream’: raising a family and opening two businessesXiaojie Tan, 49, owned Youngs Asian Massage in Acworth, on the outskirts of Atlanta, and was killed in the shootings that took place on Tuesday evening.Her daughter, Jami Webb, said that she and her mother were best friends. They soon planned on celebrating Tan’s 50th birthday with a slice of strawberry cake. Continue reading...