Current and past students are suing the University of Michigan, claiming that the institution singled out and unfairly punished pro-Palestinian students who participated in demonstrations on campus. The school is accused of breaching the students' constitutional rights to equal protection under the law, free speech, and due process in a federal lawsuit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The president and vice president of student life, as well as the university's Board of Regents, are named as defendants. According to the lawsuit, the University of Michigan fired students from campus positions, blacklisted them from future employment, targeted students and student organizations for disciplinary actions, and sent trespass notices that prevented the...

According to authorities, a man was shot and killed by police on Saturday after he drove into a mall in Texas and injured several people. According to Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Bryan Washko, who spoke at a news conference on Saturday night, the man crashed into the front of a JC Penney store at the Killeen Mall in Killen, smashing the glass doors and continuing to drive his black pickup for approximately 100 yards while hitting several people and actively running them over. The suspect was subsequently shot dead by police when they opened fire. Washko stated that the Texas Rangers are looking into the police shooting and that the community is no longer in danger. According to Washko, four individuals with injuries ranging from serious to minor were sent to nearby hospitals. He...

London Following far-right leader Nigel Farages' suggestion that Elon Musk donate to his once fringe right-wing party, lawmakers in the UK are debating whether to expedite legislation intended to prevent foreign meddling in national elections. This is the richest man in the world showing off his newly acquired political power. Governments on both sides of the Atlantic are being forced to deal with Musk's increasing political and cultural influence. What started out as a tech tycoon ranting against political correctness in the United States has turned into what seems to be a global campaign of support for far-right policies. After meeting Musk at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home last week, Farage told the BBC that his Reform UK party was still in talks with Musk. Musk, a U.S. citizen who wa...

Amanda Maze, a home health nurse and mother from Kentucky, once took out loans to buy Christmas presents for her family. She claims that this decision led to a vicious cycle of debt and year-round payments. Her half-million TikTok fans are now learning that the holidays may truly be priceless, or at least very close to it. Maze provides an alternative to an otherwise extravagant holiday season by discussing her personal experience budgeting gifts for her and her fiancé's five children and finding festive décor from charity stores. Maze stated, "I believe my goal is simply to help people understand that things in life are only temporary." You are not required to have such a materialistic existence. She is one of a few TikTok creators who have increased their budgeting-related content aroun...

Among the challenges facing the fledgling social media network Bluesky are government censorship, fake accounts, celebrity imitation, misinformation, and a user revolt over a journalist who was accused of denigrating trans people. However, they also demonstrate how quickly it has grown after the election. Bluesky is paying the price of success as it draws more users, especially from those escaping Elon Musk's X: difficult moderation choices and an increase in malicious actors. ClearSky, an analytics site, reports that about 25 million people have registered for the platform. Even if that figure still represents a small portion of X's user base, Bluesky's problems and conflicts are becoming more well known, which is an indication of its growing cultural significance. User response against j...

Among the challenges facing the fledgling social media network Bluesky are government censorship, fake accounts, celebrity imitation, misinformation, and a user revolt over a journalist who was accused of denigrating trans people. However, they also demonstrate how quickly it has grown after the election. Bluesky is paying the price of success as it draws more users, especially from those escaping Elon Musk's X: difficult moderation choices and an increase in malicious actors. ClearSky, an analytics site, reports that about 25 million people have registered for the platform. Even if that figure still represents a small portion of X's user base, Bluesky's problems and conflicts are becoming more well known, which is an indication of its growing cultural significance. User response against j...

A sizable contingent of young Indian American celebrities may flank President-elect Donald Trump when he returns to the White House in January. They include Vivek Ramaswamy, who will co-lead a new nongovernmental initiative with Elon Musk called the Department of Government Efficiency, and Kash Patel, who, if confirmed, may become Trump's FBI director. Jay Bhattacharya and Harmeet Dhillon, who have more subdued public receptions, are preparing for possible important positions at the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Justice, respectively. Additionally, Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President-elect JD Vance, will be the first South Asian American to hold the position of second lady. On the president-elect's recently announced team, these Indian Americans are arguably the mo...

Young people are not excluding themselves from the gift-giving season. According to analysts at the consulting firm Deloitte, nearly half of Gen Z (47%) and millennial (43%) customers intend to purchase gifts for themselves this Christmas season. That is far more than the 15% of baby boomers and 27% of Gen-Xers who intend to follow suit. This year's holiday gift-buying has become value-driven, and businesses are dangling sales and promotions to draw in more economical customers, including those who are reconsidering treating themselves. However, Gen Z consumers deviated from other age groups to increase their self-gifting plans over the hectic Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales weekend, rising from 65% last year to 69% this year, according to Deloitte. Some of the most popular categories ...

ARDEN, North Carolina. When Rachel Kaplan became pregnant last year, she had no insurance. As a result, her physician recommended Sedera, a nonprofit organization that markets itself as a medical cost-sharing program. Members of Sedera pay monthly dues that are combined and used by the organization to pay for members' medical expenses. Although Sedera is not governed by the same laws as health insurance, the model is fairly similar. According to Kaplan, it appeared straightforward enough that we thought, "Okay, this makes sense," but when I attempted to submit the hospital bill, we were turned down. Following the birth of their baby, Lucas, in August 2023, she and her husband, Andrew Sheffield, contacted Sedera to request payment. An inducement, forty hours of labor, and a cesarean secti...