Year: 2024

Over the last decade, calls to tax the rich have grown louder around the world — but the needle hasn’t exactly moved.

Now, the Brazilian government has a new proposal: a 2 percent global wealth tax on the uber-rich. It would impact the 3,000 wealthiest people around the world.

Economists say this 2 percent hike would unlock an extra $250 billion per year. That money could go toward addressing a number of issues, like climate change and global poverty.

G20 nations would have to agree on this proposal before it goes anywhere — and so far, that’s not happening. France, Spain, South Africa and several other nations have voiced support, but the U.S. and Germany aren’t on board.

Is a global wealth tax a feasible solution?

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Sport Climbing kicks off at the Olympics in Paris next week.

It’s a strength-to-weight ratio sport. Meaning, aside from your technique or mental game, the lighter you are relative to your strength, the easier it’ll be to get up a wall.

That’s led some climbers to fall into the mindset that losing weight is the path to better performance.

One recent study of 50 elite climbers found that more than a third intentionally lost weight before a competition — primarily by fasting and skipping meals, and occasionally by using laxatives, or vomiting.

The mindset that lighter is better is what led one young climber, Jake Scharfman, to develop an unhealthy relationship with his weight.

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If you’re not entrenched in the world of video games, you might not realize how much real actors have to do with modern gaming.

They provide everything from lines of dialogue, to portraying heroes and villains, to performing stunts – all of this bringing video games characters to life.

Some of the biggest game studios rely on voice and performance capture artists, and all this adds up to big bucks. The video game industry made close to $185 billion last year.

But video game performers whose human performances become computer data, are especially vulnerable to being replaced by generative AI.

Which is why they’re now on strike.

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On Wednesday in Paris, the U.S. women’s water polo team faced off against Italy and proved once again what a dominant force they are in the pool, cruising to a 10-3 win.

For the team’s star goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson, these games have been something of a reunion. She has played professionally on both Greek and Italian teams. Now that she’s in Paris, she’s competing against some of her former teammates.

She’s the first Black woman to play on the U.S. women’s water polo team. She made 80 saves at the Tokyo Olympics alone — more than any other goalkeeper in the women’s and men’s tournaments. She’s considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

So how far will Johnson go in these Olympics?

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In the Middle East, two assassinations in less than 24 hours could transform the region. Israel claimed responsibility for one. It has no comment on the other.

First, an Israeli attack in Lebanon killed a leader of the militant group Hezbollah. Just hours later, the political leader of Hamas was killed in Iran.

The Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was attending the swearing-in for Iran’s new reformist president. Hamas says Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired into his room at an official residency. Hamas and Iran both blame Israel for the attack.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke after the two killings, he did not claim responsibility for the attack in Tehran. He did describe the Israeli strike in Beirut as a crushing blow.

In Washington, White House spokesman John Kirby expressed concern the assassinations could result in an escalation of the conflicts already playing out.

Two assassinations in the Middle East have the potential to start a violent chain of retaliations. Will they?

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In her childhood in Berkeley, Calif., you can find the seeds of the political leader that Vice President Kamala Harris grew up to become.

Her childhood friend Carole Porter, who lived a few houses away, paints a picture of a working-class, multicultural neighborhood.

And she pointed to two women who had a huge effect on the vice president’s life.

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For a brief moment, people in the Venezuelan diaspora felt a surge of hope as reports indicated the opposition party was polling way ahead of Nicolas Maduro’s party. Then, Venezuela’s electoral authority declared Maduro the winner.

Members of the opposition have cried foul. And the US and other international observers have questioned the integrity of the election.

So where does Sunday’s election leave Venezuelans, who are living in the midst of a humanitarian emergency?

And where does it leave the nearly 8 million people who have left Venezuela during President Maduro’s time in office?

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Vice President Kamala Harris has a little over a week to pick a running mate to join her on the presidential ticket.

The list of possibilities is long, but many have a couple of things in common — the represent swing states and are white, straight men — qualities that might help make a winning ticket.

Who should the current Vice President pick to be her running mate, and what will make that a winning choice?

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Among the many Democratic Party insiders who publicly or privately urged President Joe Biden to reconsider running for reelection, one played an outsized role: Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi is 84 years old — older than Biden — and no longer in House leadership.

But her part in the pressure campaign that led to a change in the Democratic ticket shows: she is still very much a leader, and her political pull remains strong.

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Clayton Young and Conner Mantz are longtime training partners and friends. They’re also the two fastest men’s marathoners representing the U.S. at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The pair met on a run at Brigham Young University in 2017. They’ve been friends, training partners and competitors ever since.

With years of friendship and thousands of miles binding them together, can Young and Mantz break away from the pack and take home the gold at the Olympic games?

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