CNBC (April 25, 2023) – Americans are collectively spending nearly $65 billion on sneaky fees, according to the White House. “It really seems like companies have become addicted to junk fees,” Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, told CNBC.
Junk fees are making companies billions of dollars richer. Watch the video above to learn more about where junk fees hide, details of proposed changes, where policy may fall short and whether increased regulatory oversight may be enough to squash junk fees once and for all. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:26 Defining ‘junk’ fees 5:34 Squashing fees 7:52 Policy problems 10:02 The future of fees
April 25, 2023: Nerja is a resort town along southern Spain’s Costa del Sol. Its seafront promenade, Balcón de Europa, tops a promontory with views of the Mediterranean and surrounding mountains.
Below it lie sandy beaches and cliffside coves. Cueva de Nerja, a nearby cavern with unusual stalactites and stalagmites, hosts popular summertime concerts. It’s also known for its paleolithic paintings, viewable by guided tour.
The Local Project – (April 25, 2023) – Overlooking the city of Los Angeles, Sheats-Goldstein Residence by John Lautner and James Goldstein is an iconic and action packed home that ignites the idea that a residence is an expression of its owner.
Video timeline:00:00 – Inside the Iconic and Action Packed Home 00:49 – A Reflection of Mentality and Personality 01:16 – A 1972 Purchase of Amazing Design and Views 02:14 – The First Step in the 45-year long Renovation Process 03:14 – No Separation between Inside and Outside 03:42 – John Lautner’s Dislike of Box-like Forms 04:09 – A Focus on the Natural Elements 04:43 – The Addition of Tropical Vegetation 05:30 – A James Turrell Skyspace 06:05 – The Continuation of John Lautner’s Legacy 06:45 – Two Rebels Working in Cohesion 07:21 – Preserving History and Hard Work
Built and designed to reflect James’s life and experiences, the house asserts a dominance over the landscape with its frameless glass walls, hidden wonders and angled corners and turns. After buying the residence in 1972, James sought the help of John Lautner to re-model the home after observing the previous owner’s undesirable changes to the original design. Part of James’s wish was to return the structure’s lost character through dramatic improvements.
After John’s passing and having resided in the home for 45 years, James has continuously worked on adding to character of the iconic and action packed home, with respect to John’s original vision. Opposed to building anything that resembled a box or came to a 90-degree angle, John Lautner designed the home with angular walls, built-in furniture and open plan floor spaces. Wanting the residence to feel natural, the use of concrete floors is used to help imbue the feeling of openness, while carpets used within the home are designed to look like small stones and deepen the natural impression.
Additionally, the frameless glass wall that occupies the living room continues to unite the indoor and outdoor spaces and enables views of the tropical foliage and vegetation that surround the building. Spanning across over 1.5 hectares of hillside, the home’s landscape is saturated with thick foliage and vegetation that holds hidden walkways, ponds and open grassy areas. Additionally, the unique character of the iconic and action packed home is further emphasised with the James Turrel skyscraper. Tucked into the lower hillside of the home, the building acts as a form of art, allowing for one to sit back and delve into the appreciation of light and shadow.
Uploaded April 24, 2023: The Perhentian Islands are islands in Besut District, Terengganu, Malaysia. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil. The small, uninhabited islands of Susu Dara, Serengeh and Rawa, lie off Kecil.
Like Besut, people generally speak Kelantanese Malay. However, English is also widely spoken.
Archello (April 24, 2023) – Dutch architecture has long been at the vanguard of experimentation and innovation, pushing the boundaries of design metaphorically and literally. With an extensive chunk of the country situated below sea level, the Dutch have always relied on bold engineering and architectural solutions to adapt to the changing water levels to build habitats.
MVRDV is a globally based architectural firm established in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries, with offices in Rotterdam, Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, and New York.
OMA is an internationally renowned architecture and urbanism practice led by eight partners, Rem Koolhas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, Jason Long, and Managing Partner-Architect David Gianotten. With offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha and Australia, the practice is currently working on several building projects, including the renovation of Kaufhaus des Westens in Berlin and the Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux.
UNStudio began as a vision of two young minds, Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, who started with a simple drawing board and a pen, sketching their designs for the future. Today, 30 years later, UNStudio operates in over 30 countries with six international offices and a team of over 200 architects and designers who focus on designing spaces that meet human needs.
April 24, 2023: Angel Island State Park, the largest natural island in the San Francisco Bay, offers some of the best views of the surrounding Bay Area. With great hiking trails and many other recreational opportunities readily available, Angel Island is truly a hidden gem in the midst of the urban Bay Area.
Beginning with the earliest inhabitants, the Coast Miwok, Angel Island was a seasonal hunting and gathering location for the local native tribes, a safe refuge and supply stop for Spanish explorers like Juan Manuel de Ayala, one of the first to map the San Francisco Bay.
From 1910 to 1940, the U.S. Immigration Station processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants, the majority from China. During World War II, Japanese, and German POWs were detained at the Station before being sent to facilities farther inland.
The Globalist, April 25, 2023: An update on the war in Ukraine as Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, visits New York. Also, leaders from the largest-ever coalition around energy in the North Sea meet in Belgium.
Without a decisive victory, Western support for Ukraine could weaken, and Kyiv could come under increasing pressure to enter serious peace talks to end or freeze the conflict.
A grain deal that got Ukrainian exports moving and eased a global food crisis is now fueling protests in Romania and among other staunch supporters of Kyiv.
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