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TOP STORY
TOP STORY
How much income is needed to feel secure?
According to a survey, Americans have a specific annual income in mind for what it would take to feel financially secure.
According to personal finance website Bankrate, that figure is $186,000 annually. Only 6% of US adults make that or more, Bankrate said. The median family income is $51,500–$86,000.
Achieving financial security is defined as the ability to pay bills while having enough left over to make discretionary purchases and having some to save.
Respondents in Bankrate's survey say they would need to earn $520,000 a year to qualify as wealthy, up from the $483,000 response from last year.
In another survey, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says 35% of Americans are worried about making ends meet, up from 29% a year earlier.
Another survey reported adults in major US cities must earn $96,500 annually before taxes to afford necessities and savings, while a two-parent household with two children needs a combined $235,000.
Running Stories
LAW
LAW
US Marshals recover 200 missing children
Two hundred missing children were recovered in a six-week operation that has now ended.
The US Marshals Service, assisted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, conducted the operation across seven federal judicial districts and geographic locations.
The operation targeted areas with increased missing children in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon and New York City.
Of the 200 children, 173 were endangered runaways, 25 were considered missing, one was abducted by a family member, and one was a non-family abduction.
Many cases were considered “challenging” recoveries involving child sex trafficking, child exploitation, sexual abuse, physical abuse and sufferers of medical or mental health conditions.
In one case, a 15-year-old girl was reported missing by her guardian on May 13. An investigation discovered the child had become a victim of human trafficking in Miami-Dade, Fla.
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POLITICS
POLITICS
Biden denounces Supreme Court decision
President Joe Biden called the Supreme Court ruling to grant ex-president Donald Trump broad immunity a “dangerous precedent.”
Biden said the 6–3 ruling “undermined the rule of law” and meant Trump is less likely to be held legally accountable for inciting a mob to launch a deadly attack on the US Capitol in January 2021.
Citing the words of the liberal and dissenting Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor, who criticized the ruling, the president said in his White House speech: “I dissent.”
Biden said, “It’s a dangerous precedent because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law, even including the Supreme Court.”
Biden criticized the Supreme Court, whose recent rulings stem from a conservative majority established largely from three rightwing justices appointed by Trump.
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENT
Over 100 dolphins rescued around Cape Cod
Over 100 dolphins were saved from shallow waters around Cape Cod after about 125 were stranded.
An estimated 13 dolphins died, and one had to be euthanized, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which helped lead the rescue attempt.
The nonprofit said it was the largest mass-stranding it had dealt with on the Cape during its 26-year history there.
Rescuers said there’s no set reason why these dolphins became stranded. Cape Cod is known as a global stranding hotspot due to its shores' curvature and tides' fluctuation.
Teams in Massachusetts found one group of 10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins swimming in a dangerously shallow area at dawn on Saturday and managed to herd them out into deeper water.
Scouts also found a second group of 25 dolphins swimming close to the shore near Eastham, the organization said. Teams worked to herd them away as the tide dropped throughout the morning.
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Bionic leg restores natural walking
A neuroprosthesis developed by MIT that’s fully controlled by the nervous system enables amputees to walk.
The neuroprosthesis uses sensors between the reconstructed amputation site and the bionic leg to transmit electrical signals from the brain.
The configuration enables the prosthetic to sense its position and movement and to send this information back to the patient. It allows a sense of proprioception: the brain’s ability to sense self-movement and location in space.
The research found participants who had the amputation and neuroprosthesis increased their walking speed by 41%, matching the ranges and abilities of people without leg amputations.
To test the interface, 14 participants were split into two groups and fitted with bionic prosthetic legs. Seven had undergone AMI surgery, and seven had not.
It is hoped fully neuro-controlled prosthetics will be available commercially within five years. An estimated 1.9 million Americans live with limb loss, a figure expected to double by 2050, mainly due to increasing rates of diabetes.
OTHER NEWS
OTHER NEWS
Some hope for South African government
South Africa's unity government has inspired cautious optimism from industry and financial markets.
President Cyril Ramaphosa (left) appointed former main opposition leader John Steenhuisen (right) to head a ministry on Sunday, bringing the Democratic Alliance and other parties into a coalition cabinet for the first time in three decades.
The ruling African National Congress was forced to join rival parties to stay in power after losing its majority in a May 29 poll, getting just 40% of the vote.
The Federation of Unions of South Africa said the government "seems to favor political party interests [rather] ... than addressing the urgent requirements of the South African nation.”
Some businesses seemed to share this fear, with the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry warning key goals “will not be achievable if there is no meritocracy.”
Busisiwe Mavuso, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, said the government “will find a willing partner in business, which will enthusiastically back reform."
TOP STORY
TOP STORY
UFO-style car pulled over by police
Crawford County Sheriff's Office in Missouri reported one of its officers had stopped a futuristic-looking vehicle resembling a UFO.
In a post on its Facebook page, the agency saw the funny side of the encounter, saying: "Well, you never know what will be traveling through Crawford County, but this one was a little out of this world.”
The driver of the UFO-style vehicle had “come in peace,” the officer said, noting the destination was a festival in Roswell, the New Mexico city long linked to extra-terrestrial activity.
The driver, Steve Anderson, modified a 1991 Geo Metro, adding parts like a glass canopy and an airplane-like steering yoke. Anderson said he would sort out his “out-of-state registration” on his return.
Otherweb Editorial Staff
Alex FinkTechie in Chief
David WilliamsEditor in Chief
Angela PalmerContent Manager
Dan KriegerTechnical Director