UK families of some 240,000 people who died from COVID-19 have hung festive lights on a London wall, a symbol of love, anger and pain ahead of another Christmas overshadowed by loss. As the fifth anniversary of the global pandemic approaches, emotions still run raw across the UK amid lingering accusations that the then government responded too slowly to the crisis. Some 240,000 hearts have been painted by hand on the wall, nestled on the banks of the Thames, opposite the British parliament. Each heart on the 500-meter-long wall represents one of the UK victims of the disease, which shattered and disrupted lives around the globe after being first detected in China in December 2019. "We put up lights every Christmas, just as a way to reflect and remember those people who are not with us," said Kirsten Hackman, 58, whose mother died from COVID in May 2020. "For many of us, there is that empty place at the table this Christmas," she added. The wall is a collective "therapy session," say volunteers. Since 2019 more than seven million people have been reported to have died from COVID worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. But the true toll is believed to be much higher. Thousands of messages written on the hearts on the London wall reveal the depth of the emotional toll and scars left by the pandemic on UK lives. "Mamy, love you forever," reads one, while another says: "Phil, always in my heart". The remembrance wall was originally meant to be temporary, and was constructed without permission in March 2021 in protest at then Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the pandemic. He faced accusations of being too slow to recognize COVID's threat and then taking too long to lock down the country to try to prevent the spread of the highly infectious disease. The wall is an "outpouring of love, anger, rage", Lorelei King, whose husband died of COVID in March 2020, told AFP. The 71-year-old is part of the "Friends of the Wall" group, a dozen volunteers who come every Friday to clean the monument, repaint the rain-washed hearts and rewrite the messages. "It's quite meditative", she said. The group continues to draw new hearts as COVID claims new lives. But on the Friday before Christmas, the volunteers met for another, more joyful mission: to hang lights along the wall. They illuminated them on Monday, and the decorations will remain in place until the beginning of January. Nearly five years after the start of the pandemic, the pain remains the same, said King, adding she was one of many who had not been able to grieve properly. "We weren't able to have a real funeral," due to lockdown rules, she explained, referring to the severe restrictions put in place on visiting loved ones in their dying hours, and then from holding large gatherings to mourn their loss. Instead, she focuses her energy on the wall. "It comforts me. And I don't want the people we care about to be forgotten," said King. "We are all in the same boat", added Michelle Rumball, 53, whose mother died of COVID in April 2020. She was there on the first day that some hearts were painted, following a social media call by activist group Led By Donkeys. Over the next 10 days, hundreds of people who had lost loved ones showed up to add their tribute, despite risking arrest for damaging a listed wall. "I was very angry at that time. It was a demonstration," recalled Rumball. The group is in discussions with the authorities to make the wall, whose upkeep depends on donations, "permanent" and officially recognized, meaning it could be better protected. And a few days before Christmas, they had a "very positive" meeting, King said. According to the WHO, more than 232,000 people have died with COVID in the United Kingdom. By comparison, there have been around 168,000 deaths in France.Arsenal's Mismanagement in Transfer Market: Missing Out on Key Signings Causes ConcernHere’s Who Else Biden Could Pardon Before He Leaves Office—Beyond Hunter BidenWhile some netizens have voiced support for SARFT's efforts to regulate AI modification and protect the integrity of cultural content, others have raised concerns about the potential censorship and limitations on creative expression. The debate over the boundaries of AI modification and the role of regulatory bodies in overseeing online content creation reflects broader tensions between artistic freedom and social responsibility in the digital age.
LINCOLN — Nebraska landed a commit from one of its top transfer targets Tuesday when Kentucky receiver Dane Key, who has nearly 2,000 career receiving yards, picked the Huskers over Georgia, Mississippi State and others. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder has one year of eligibility left and gives NU the big-bodied, No. 1 receiver it sought after the graduation of both Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor, who completed their final seasons at Nebraska. Key will be paired with Nebraska’s other transfer portal receiver, Nyziah Hunter, a 6-2, 210-pound sophomore-to-be who transferred in from California. Key is also reunited with Daikiel Shorts, the Kentucky wide receivers coach who took the same job at Nebraska under offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, who coached Shorts at West Virginia. Shorts was Holgorsen’s one coaching request during the hiring cycle. All other NU offensive assistant coaches have remained, for the time being, on the staff. In Shorts’ one year at UK, Key caught 47 passes for 715 yards and two touchdowns in a Wildcat offense that averaged just 22.1 points and 184 passing yards per game. His career line in 38 games (35 starts) includes 126 receptions for 1,870 yards and 14 scores. The son of former Kentucky linebacker Donte’ Key, Dane grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, graduated from Frederick Douglass High School, and picked, as a four-star recruit the hometown Wildcats over Oregon, South Carolina and Michigan out of high school. “Not only did I have my parents come to the University of Kentucky, but I also had a couple of old teammates from high school that came to the University of Kentucky before me,” Key said in April 2024 on ESPN’s Paul Finebaum Show. “Those guys were always in my ear to come, and my mom and my grandma — all my family members were in my ear about staying close to home and being somewhere they can watch every game.” He caught 37 passes for 519 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman and 42 passes for 636 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore. Both UK teams finished 7-6. This year, Kentucky backslid to 4-8, the second-worst record in coach Mark Stoops’ 12-year tenure. In joining Nebraska, Key will be catching passes from his fourth different starting quarterback. Will Levis was UK’s starter in 2022, followed by Devin Leary in 2023 and Brock Vandagriff in 2024. Key visited several schools in the transfer portal recruiting process, including Nebraska last week, just before the visit dead period began. He’s another addition to NU’s transfer portal haul on offense that includes Hunter and backup quarterback Marcos Davila, who came from Purdue. Get local news delivered to your inbox!"Set pieces provide a unique opportunity for teams to score goals and change the course of a game. Without a well-drilled set piece strategy, teams like Arsenal struggle to break down organized defenses and find the back of the net," Reinekel explained.
Furthermore, the developers have listened to player feedback and suggestions to enhance the overall gaming experience in Season 38. From performance improvements to quality-of-life updates, the team behind KOG is dedicated to creating an immersive and enjoyable experience for players. With regular updates and new features planned throughout the season, players can expect a dynamic and evolving gaming environment that will keep them coming back for more.
In terms of individual stocks, tech giants like Huawei, Tencent, and Xiaomi registered solid gains, supported by strong demand for their products and services. Pharmaceutical companies focusing on vaccine development also attracted buying interest amid hopes of containing the spread of the virus.
Not too long ago we did a post about people on Quora who brilliantly exploited loopholes to outsmart those in power, and they were oh-so-satisfying to read. Well, members of the BuzzFeed Community chimed in with their own stories, so here are nine more deliciously clever loopholes people exploited, followed by the original ones from the first post in case you missed them. NOTE: Some of these are stories about loopholes from years ago, or from different countries, so don't yell at me if they don't work anymore. OK, love ya! 1. "I was staying in a big Las Vegas casino hotel when I noticed a slot machine that paid out a collectible coin. Watching people play the machine, I realized it paid off every second time. What most people didn't notice, though, was that at the bottom of the machine, it said in small letters that each coin had a face value of $14.95. So, I started playing the machine, collected an entire bucket of collectible coins, then went to the exchange cage and told the lady I wanted to cash in my coins. She said, 'Oh, no. Most people don't do that. These are collectibles.' I said, 'They're worth $14.95 according to the machine,' so, after discussing it with her manager, she paid me 1,000 bucks!" "I happily went about my business, and then later that day, when I went to hit up the machine again, it was gone. I guess after all these years, I was the first person to actually read the outside of the machine." —Anonymous 2. "Starbucks used to have a holiday special: Purchase a thermos in December for about $35, and enjoy one free coffee a day in January by presenting the thermos. So, in January, I would go to three different Starbucks a day, seven days a week, and get free coffee (of course, I would always tip). One cup of coffee at $3.00 x three cups = $9.00 a day, $63.00 a week, and $252 for one month. Bwahahahaha!" —Anonymous 3. "I had a small food-based business and participated in farmers' markets four days a week for 10 years. When you show up at a market, you need a tent for obvious reasons. I bought a tent from Dick's Sporting Goods and, for an additional $10, got the extended warranty which was good for a year; the warranty also included wear and tear. Every year I would go back to Dick's with my tent from the previous year and show them the 'wear and tear.' They would give me a new tent, and I would purchase an additional extended warranty for another $10. This went on for 10 years! New tents were close to $100, and I managed to spend no more than that for 10 new tents. That was the only time I remember an extended warranty really paying off!" — marvelouspony48 4. "When comedian Dick Gregory campaigned for president in 1968, he passed out 'Dick Gregory for President' lookalike dollar bills. They were the size of US currency and had his image instead of George Washington's. I got a stack of them at one of his appearances at Temple University and found that the campus bill changers would accept them and dispense four quarters! I ate well that semester. Fast-forward to 1982. I was driving taxis in Boston when Mr. Gregory got in my cab at the Copley Plaza Hotel. I told him the story, and he was astonished, laughed, and said he had no idea!" —Anonymous 5. "I worked at a 7-Eleven store in the 1980s, and back then, the Sunday newspaper routinely had coupons for $5.00 off a carton of cigarettes. The store was next to a busy interstate exit in a state with the lowest cigarette taxes in the country, so it was common for people to see the low prices for a carton of cigarettes and buy all we had on the shelf. When working on a Sunday, we would go to the newspaper rack outside the store, feed it 50 cents, and pull out all of the cigarette coupons. For the rest of the day, we would hold on to the unwanted receipts for the sale of cartons of cigarettes, staple the coupon to it, and pull the $5 from the register. We easily tripled our hourly rate on those days!" —Anonymous 6. "Panera has a beverage club where you can get unlimited coffee, tea, and fountain drinks for free for the first two months (then $14.99 per month after that). I would sign up and use it for almost two months, then cancel before my card was charged. Then I would get an email saying, 'We miss you,' and if you sign up for two more months, it will cost you nothing or maybe $3–$4, I can't remember. So I'd sign up again and cancel again right before the free trial ended and get the same email again. That worked for a couple of years." —Anonymous 7. "Decades ago, during our first quarter at a state university, my best friend and I lived in a dorm room. As part of our contract, we were required to buy four coupon books worth $40 each, with tearaway tickets in various denominations, for our cafeteria meals. It was $160 for food over a three-month quarter...as I said, decades ago. Late in the quarter, we noticed ads on the dorm bulletin boards where students (who were obviously eating out instead of at the cafeteria) were selling unused coupon books for prices as low as $10. The coupon books could be used for the entire school year. That gave me an idea." "We bought as many books as cheaply as possible, then went home on holiday break. While there, we each went to our family doctor and told them we had stomach issues, which we thought might have been the result of the cafeteria food. The docs wrote letters on our behalf to present to the university, which meant the school had to let us out of our $160 per quarter coupon purchase requirements. We then ate at the cafeteria for perhaps 25% of what we would have been charged. We did this for the two years we lived in the dorms (school requirement at the time). Granted, it was cafeteria food, but it was cheap, and we were never hungry." —Anonymous 8. "Movie theater popcorn — it has unlimited refills if you buy a large one. There is no restriction on when the refill happens, so I go to the theater, buy popcorn, and don’t even watch a movie. So far, I have refilled it over 12 times for free. It only works if you live near the theater; I am within two miles. And I LOVE movie theater popcorn!!!" —Anonymous 9. "ASDA Groceries in the UK used to do a price match promise. You took your receipt home, input the barcode on their website, and if there was a price discrepancy between the other supermarkets they checked against, you'd get a voucher for 2x the amount of difference. It didn't need to be YOUR receipt, of course. Did someone leave a receipt in the carrier bag? Take it home and check it. Receipt lying on the ground? Take it home and check it. I was unemployed at the time, and always took home whatever receipts I found." "I found one around Christmas with about £10 of a difference, so I ended up with a £20 voucher. The checkout people were supposed to mark your receipt to show it had been used, but if it didn't get marked, you could use it again and again until it was. This was exceedingly helpful during those lean weeks when you had to decide between the choice to 'heat or eat.' ASDA stopped doing it after a while, though." — teeldubya 10. "When I was 10, my parents signed me and my younger siblings up for the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Kids Birthday Club. I gave Krispy Kreme my address and birth month, and they were supposed to send me a coupon for a free dozen doughnuts every year on my birth month until I aged out of their Kids Club at age 12 — because it was just for kids, right? But Krispy Kreme forgot to ask for the year in my birthday. They had no clue how old I was. So that's how, at 29, I'd been a member of the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Kids Birthday Club for 19 years." "That's 228 free doughnuts for me, plus another 228 for my sister and 228 for my brother, who signed up at the same time as me. 684 free doughnuts. Our family barely purchased donuts in years. Krispy Kreme has since closed the loophole to new signups. First, they made people list their full birthday down to the year to join the Krispy Kreme Kids club ( which they temporarily and unfortunately called "KKK " , no joke), and now they don't even offer it. Adults can sign up to get one single donut on their birthday and some special days (Tax Day, Halloween, National Doughnut Day), but that's it. But the fun continued for me...until it finally ended in 2023. I am now forced to buy my own birthday donuts. Hooray for adulthood." — McKayla K. , Quora 11. "My Dad's Lexus was stolen right out from his carport, so he reported it as stolen to the police and insurance company. After two weeks, when the car never turned up, the insurance company paid him for the car. Another week goes by, and he gets a call from the police saying they found his car parked two towns away. There wasn't a single scratch on it, and not a lot of miles had been put on it either. So now the insurance company owns the car, and they put it up for auction. My dad goes to the auction and bids on his car to get it back. He won the bid with $10,000 to spare. So he drove home in his car with an extra $10,000 in his pocket." — Pam W.H. , Quora 12. "I'm not sure how widespread this 'trick' was, but a close childhood friend taught it to me. This was back in the day when public pay phones were all over the place. He showed me that if you dialed '10ATT1' on a pay phone, you would get another dial tone and could dial out for free. We placed many 'free' calls back in the day. This method also allowed me to make long-distance calls, and even to call those 976-CHAT numbers (normally $1.99 a minute)." "One evening, a bunch of friends and I hit all the pay phones in a shopping center, and each called the line. Other people were on the line, and we all acted like we were 'regulars' and knew each other through the chat line. I have no idea where my friend learned this trick. I figured he had a relative who worked for the phone company." — Taylor P. , Quora 13. "Every year, I purchased McDonald's Trick or Treat books. These books sold for $1 each and had coupons for 12 'free' items, such as ice cream, burgers, apple slices, yogurt, and fries. The idea was to give one of the coupons to each trick-or-treater who showed up at your door. The coupons were good until December of that year. About 10 years ago, I purchased my customary 10 books and noticed that they did not have an expiration date that year! I went back and purchased an additional 50 or 100 books (I forget how many), but the store was sold out of them when I got done." "We used those books for YEARS! I still have a couple of coupons left, waiting to be used. There was NO AGE RESTRICTION and NO EXPIRATION! The missing expiration date meant that ALL McDonald's had to honor them no matter the month or YEAR. I presented some to one location that had never even SEEN these coupons." — Christine K. , Quora 14. "Instead of paying for Netflix, I profited. I accidentally discovered this loophole when I wanted to upgrade my account from Basic (€8 a month) to Standard (€11 a month). A few weeks later, I changed my mind and downgraded to Basic — exactly one day before I was supposed to get charged like every month. Since I had used the Standard account for most of the month, I assumed I would be charged €11. However, I was surprised to find out that they had charged only €8. I thought it might have been a glitch, and I was curious to find out if it would work every time, so I upgraded my account again and then downgraded it one day before I was supposed to pay. Again, they charged only €8." "I knew I had found a loophole, so I continued to exploit it. After three months of using a Standard account, I decided to try if it would also work if I got Premium. I have three siblings who also like watching Netflix, so Premium would be great. Guess what? It worked. So, for the next five months, I would share a Premium account with my siblings, and we would pay only €8 for it. But here's the most evil thing: I didn't tell my siblings about the loophole. They believed I had to pay €14. Since we had agreed that each of us would pay €3.50, I received €10.50 from them. And I had to give only €8 of that to Netflix. So, not only did I get Netflix for free, but I also profited €2.50 every month. And all I had to do was downgrade my account back to Basic just before I got charged (which was at the exact same time every month) and then upgrade it to Premium right after. It worked great for a few months, but then I started to feel a little guilty. My siblings watched a lot less Netflix than me, but they were the ones who had to pay for it. Around the same time, I also read an article that said Netflix was losing millions every year because people didn't pay for it. This was too much, so I stopped using this loophole. I still have a Premium account with my siblings, but we're paying the full €14. I'm from the Netherlands, so I don't know if this works in other countries. It might be fixed by now. It also might have been a glitch that only worked for my account. Who knows. I don't recommend using it." — Marie G. , Quora 15. "I’m currently attending a large university in the US. My minor has simple requirements: I must pass at least 4 of 10 offered classes. As it turns out, 4 of the 10 classes are taught by the same professor. He teaches two in the fall and two in the spring. By chance, I took him once. I’ve taken him three more times and have earned my minor, getting A’s in every single one of his classes. And I guarantee you I couldn’t pass a basic class with any other professor. This professor gives weekly quizzes and monthly tests in person, but via the computer. We sign into a special software that doesn’t allow us to search the internet, and take the test with him there. Everything was multiple-choice. But here’s where it gets interesting..." "Many of his questions had more than one answer. So, he set the test so you could check as many answers as you wanted. For example, we could select both A and B because the answer could be both. But the test never counted how many answers we selected. It only made sure you checked the right box, not if you checked a wrong box. So, if the answer was A and B, and I checked A,B, and C, it would count as right. So what’d I do? I checked A, B, C, D, and E for almost every single question. The software would see that I checked the right answer (because I checked every answer) and mark the question right. Sometimes, to maintain realism, I’d purposefully check only one box for a few questions to get them wrong. My average scores stood between 95%–100% the entire semester. And quizzes and tests made up 75% of his grading, the other 25% being just menial homework. These classes boosted my GPA noticeably, and now I have a particularly impressive minor to put on my résumé." — Anonymous , Quora 16. "I was accepted by Harvard Medical School without all the prerequisites and without taking the MCAT. It was the fall of my junior year at MIT. I was studying/hanging out with a girl I had a crush on (a senior), and she was upset that her MCAT scores were not good enough. I was flipping through the brochure for Harvard Medical School and saw what I thought might be a major loophole. I told her not to give them the MCAT scores, as they were not really an admissions requirement. Of course, she didn’t believe me and challenged me to apply and see if that 'loophole' worked. So I did." "I sent in my application on the very last day applications were accepted, despite being a junior and not having all the prerequisites, finishing my application at 4 a.m. after studying for a couple exams and doing a problem set or two. Not surprisingly, a few weeks later, I received a letter from the Dean of Admissions for Harvard Medical School informing me that there was no record of me having taken the MCATs, so unless their information was incorrect, they would have to withdraw my application. I called the admissions office, and after several tries was finally able to speak to the Dean: 'Dean Paul, I received a letter telling me that you would have to withdraw my application because I haven’t taken the MCAT.' 'I understand. Is that incorrect; have you taken the MCAT?' 'No, I haven’t.' 'Well, I’m sorry, but we will have to withdraw your application; the MCAT is an admission requirement for Harvard Medical School.' 'With all due respect, sir, I beg to differ. The MCAT is not an admission requirement for Harvard Medical School.' 'Wait, you’re telling me, the Dean of Admissions, what the admission requirements are?' 'Yes, sir. I believe you are referring to the paragraph on page 29 that lists the entrance requirements for Harvard Medical School and includes the MCAT.' 'Yes, exactly.' 'Well, it clearly states that the MCAT is an entrance requirement; it doesn’t state that the MCAT is an admission requirement. So if you admit me in April, I will gladly take the MCAT over the summer and have it for you by the time I enter in September.' 'Ah, I don’t think that’s what it means.' 'I realize it may not be what you intended, but I’ve checked with two of my linguistics professors, including a Nobel Prize winner, and they agree that is what the paragraph means.' 'Hmmm. Well, I’ll talk to the members of the committee and get back to you.' A couple of days later, he called me back and told me that the committee had discussed the matter, and that while it was not what they intended, they agreed that it did indeed mean just that, so they would not withdraw my application. At first, I was very pleased, but then I realized that all that meant was that they were not going to officially withdraw my application, but they could still just unofficially withdraw it, i.e., ignore it and reject me. So I really didn’t think about it much until I got a call to come in for an interview (that’s a whole different story!). April rolled around, and a thick envelope arrived with my acceptance letter. A couple of weeks later, I received another letter reminding me that I had not yet fulfilled all the entrance requirements, including the English and Biology requirements and the MCAT, and asking me to let them know when I would. Of course, the next year, the language in the brochure was changed to close this loophole!" — David M.J., Quora 17. "In high school, I had a part-time job in a local chain supermarket store. I did the usual: stocking shelves, helping in the butcher shop, cleaning floors, and bagging groceries. The store began running a promotion where, for every $100 in receipts, you could get a free dish in a set of 'fine' china. It was kind of silly; the reality was that most people would never accumulate enough receipts for a place setting, let alone an entire set." "But in my tenure as a bag boy, I noticed several things: 1.) People often just put the receipt in the trash can on the way out; 2.) They often told the cashier they did not want the receipt, and she put it in the trash can under the register; and 3.) If I was helping people, especially the older ladies, take the groceries to their car and asked them for their receipts, explaining I was trying to get my ma a set of dishes, they usually gave them to me. So I became the most willing volunteer to bag groceries, the most diligent emptier of trash cans, and the most solicitous helper to people who needed assistance getting groceries to their car. A week before the promotion ended, I presented thousands of dollars in receipts to my ma and explained what she had to do, omitting to the store, of course, that she had a relative employed there. That is how we got the 'fine' china that is still used by my ma to this day — complete with soup tureen and gravy boat — and the highly sought after 'Giant Serving Platter.'" — James V.D. , Quora 18. "I'm sure you're familiar with Starbucks Coffee. Starbucks offers membership cards that cost about $5. These cards aren't super useful at first glance. It's putting your money on a card that can ONLY be used to buy coffee, after all. Why do that when you can just use actual money? Well, there's more to it than meets the eye — for us cheapskates. You see, being a member and getting your own card means that you get a free drink once a year for your birthday. And you don't have to show your birth certificate for them to determine your birthday. You simply fill out all that information when you first buy the card. Now, this is technically illegal, but if one HYPOTHETICALLY bought 365 cards and set a different birthdate for each of them — one for each day of the year, of course — then they could get a free coffee. Every day. For the rest of their life." — Gabren , Quora 19. "Many years ago in Canada, I lived in an apartment shared with a couple of other students. Canada is cold. As students, we each had a room and a central kitchen. Heating was included in the rent, which was great. We just set the kitchen heat control thermostat to 72oC (21oC). This was great in September, even October. Into November and onwards, we enjoyed the comfortable ambient temperature you would expect for a heated apartment. Sometime in late November or early December, the landlord began to complain that his heating costs were too high. He asked if we would mind setting the heat to 60oF (15oC) while we were on campus in classes and overnight sleeping and 70oF (20oC) when we were there during the evenings. Sure. No problem. Reasonable. We complied." "In January, the landlord complained again about heating costs being too high. We thought we had been flexible enough. We were doing his reasonable austerity measures, and were paying the same rent as we had in September–November. Heat was supposed to be included in the rent. The landlord asked if we would do 50oF (10oC) for days and 60oF (10oC) for evenings and overnight. We declined. Not reasonable. We were paying for heat. There was a discussion and some negotiation. Then, that landlord made a strategic blunder. One day, he said he would be doing maintenance while we were in class. When we came home, we discovered he'd put a locked plastic box over the thermostat and set it for 50oF (10oC). Colder than cool. It was frigid in both the rooms and the kitchen. Doing that while we were out for class had been a mean and dirty trick. Not to be outdone, we got a plain old bucket. Canada, as you might expect, has snow from sometime in December until mid–late April. Our standard practice became for the first person going into the house from class and the last person going out for the day to hang a bucket packed with snow on that locked thermostat box. The landlord just couldn't figure out why his costs went up and why we stopped complaining. That bucket of snow kept that heat-controlling thermostat thinking it was FREEZING in the apartment, and it kept the furnace running just fine. It took a while to get the right amount of snow to get a comfortable temperature. Soon, we were warm and cozy. The landlord had to give us a day's notice for any inspections, and the bucket was always standing in the corner with a mop in it by the time he arrived. He'd always find the apartment a frigid 50oF (10oC) during his inspections. We used that bucket for the rest of the lease. It wasn't a paper loophole but a technical one. And we exploited it to the fullest." — Ian S ., Quora 20. "In a discussion with a Luxor Casino host, she mentioned that my fiancé had done 'very well' during her last visit. She hadn't actually done all that well, so we suspected that her record had been crossed with somebody with far more money. We decided to see just how far we could push that." "We scheduled our wedding at the Luxor wedding chapel and demanded a suite. What we got was five nights in one of the four VIP suites in the penthouses of the two towers, reserved for high rollers and celebrities. It was easily big enough for our wedding reception with a bar, dance floor, and disc jockey. They tried to stop us from bringing outside liquor into the building, but after a short discussion, they relented. Luxor management even brought us a wedding cake. When we checked out, we expected to see a bill for a few grand to cover all the food and amenities. Instead, we were shocked when they told us that everything was complimentary. We laughed all the way to the cruise ship for our honeymoon. Over the next few years, we returned to Luxor for a few more complimentary stays until they eventually figured out that we weren't big gamblers." — Wiley W. , Quora 21. "When I lived in Tempe, Arizona, I lived in the back of my apartment complex and got my own little sheltered parking spot for my Toyota. Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for people to park in my designated spot or block it with their cars. Being as polite as I could, I would go around and knock on doors to try and get that person to move their car. Often, I would be late for class. One day, I was looking through the tenants' rights of Maricopa County, Arizona, and I found a clause that stated that the tenant had the right to remove an illegally parked vehicle." "The clause then defined 'an illegally parked vehicle' to mean a car that is parked in such a way that it hinders the tenant from entering or exiting their designated parking space. The clause also said that the owner of the illegally parked vehicle is responsible for fixing any damage caused by the removal of the vehicle. The clause never stated HOW the tenant might do that, however. The county legislators probably thought that 99.99% of people would call a towing company, but I had places to be and was honestly fed up with these illegal parkers, so I was part of that other 0.01% group. I bought towing straps on my way home from class one day, and I didn't even have to wait a full night. Parked in my space — a space I was paying rent for — was a black Tesla. I hooked it up to my Toyota diesel pickup and dragged it out of there, tires squealing. I left it in the middle of the street, and the next morning, the owner came out and stood perplexed at the new positioning of his car. A few days later, there was a Prius parked in front of my truck. I had to get to class but couldn't. So, I gently pushed the Prius out of the way with my bull-bar and left it in the middle of the street. The Prius sustained a minor dent in its passenger side, and that evening when I got back from college, there were several police officers on the scene. The owner of the Prius tried to charge me with a hit and run, but after I showed the officers the picture that I took of the Prius blocking my truck in, the clause from the tenant's rights document, and the lease proving that I was the rightful occupant of the parking spot, they determined that the Prius owner was at fault and responsible for the damages. Several more times this happened, and eventually, word got around that my parking spot was not safe to park in front of. Everyone could tell if there was a newbie in town because they would park in front of my spot and subsequently get yanked. Thanks, Maricopa County!" — Dave S. , Quora 22. "Pizza Hut used to have a guarantee at lunch that you would have your personal pan pizza in five minutes, or your next one was free. The 'scam' was that if they didn't have the pizzas made and waiting to be served, they wouldn't take your order (which started the clock). So I walked in and placed my order 'to go' at the register. Since I wasn't sitting at a table, they couldn't delay taking my order. I also knew the manager worked weekends and took Tuesdays off, making Tuesdays rather chaotic. So, on Tuesdays, I would order my two pizzas and get two coupons for a free one next time, which would give me two more. Of course, there were times when they would make the five minutes, and I'd have to pay the next time. My record: I bought two pizzas, got 14 free." — James O. , Quora 23. "In a month and a half, I would have had 20 years with my company and become fully vested in the retirement system. But then I received notification that I was being terminated in four weeks. They gave a couple of reasons for it, but I knew the real reason. The new president of the company used to be the general manager of an operating unit for which I'd been called in to fix a production issue (I worked for corporate as a 'firefighter'). I fixed the issue in three days and gave him a full report. He offered me a job. Now, remember, I was part of the corporate staff, but he was offering me a position in an operating unit. It was kind of a step down, and only a 4% raise was involved. I respectfully declined the offer — and my corporate boss was so happy that I was staying that I got a 22% raise!" "Well, the general manager was named president, and he went through his list of people who had crossed him. I was way down on his list, but I was still on the list. So was my boss. But my boss was old enough to retire comfortably. I was 45 and nowhere near retirement age, and now it seemed like I was going to be screwed out of my pension. A friend who happened to have some HR experience heard I was being let go and gave me some pointers. I called the head of HR and asked if my position was being eliminated or if I was being terminated. I was told that the position was being eliminated. That was very important information because, according to the law of my state, a person being terminated must be given two to four weeks' notice. However, if the position is being eliminated, then the person must be given no less than eight weeks' notice. Hmmmm. Apparently, HR realized what I was asking, did some research, and called me back, saying that they were giving me those eight weeks, which meant I would reach 20 years and collect my full pension. Fortunately, I was in good standing with HR. After all, we worked in the same office for many years. I was also given a year's severance pay. Cool, I could now coast for a year." — Tom C ., Quora 24. "Back in my college days, there was a place in town where someone put a needle in your arm, removed the blood from your body, harvested the plasma, and then returned the blood to your body. It was easy money — $20 for your first visit in a week and $30 for your second visit. It was good money for what it was back then. I had been doing this for about a year when the plasma place sent out a mass mailing to all the dorm buildings on campus. The mailing contained a coupon for a new donor special that entitled you to an extra $5 if you brought the mailer along. As I watched nearly everyone dispose of the mailer in the recycling bin, I struck upon an idea. I dumpster-dived the recycling bin, retrieving every single discarded mailer." "When I was done, I had a huge stack, and I took one with me every time I visited the plasma place, increasing my weekly payout by 20%. But all good things must come to an end. One day, the attendant there told me that the mailer was for new donors only, and since I had already been going, I was ineligible to use the mailer to get the extra $5. That was the end of that." — Matthew R. , Quora 25. "United used to overbook flights from Portland to San Francisco all the time, so anytime I needed to fly to San Francisco, I would ALWAYS book the earliest flight out the day before and then volunteer to take the bump over and over again. I would then take the last flight out with my coworkers who booked that flight in the first place. I picked up two or three vouchers a day, and if they didn't have a bump, which was rare, I just got to SF early and crashed in the hotel. Later in the year, I used the vouchers to fly the whole family to Hawaii." — William E ., Quora (Entries have been edited for length and/or clarity.) Did you ever exploit a loophole like these folks? If so, let us know in the comments below or via this anonymous form . Your response could be featured in a future BuzzFeed Community post!
A Delaware judge has reaffirmed her ruling that Tesla must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick on Monday denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package. McCormick also rejected an equally unprecedented and massive fee request by plaintiff attorneys, who argued that they were entitled to legal fees in the form of Tesla stock valued at more than $5 billion. The judge said the attorneys were entitled to a fee award of $345 million. The rulings came in a lawsuit filed by a Tesla stockholder who challenged Musk’s 2018 compensation package. McCormick concluded in January that Musk engineered the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent. The compensation package initially carried a potential maximum value of about $56 billion, but that sum has fluctuated over the years based on Tesla’s stock price.After a slow start to the season, Chelsea's fortunes have taken a dramatic turn for the better under the guidance of their new manager. The team has displayed a newfound confidence and attacking prowess that has seen them climb the league table and close the gap on the frontrunners. With each passing game, Chelsea fans have allowed themselves to dare to dream of a return to the glory days of past triumphs.
SLUG: DELAYED DUE TO DIFFERENCES Vadodara: The Sama flyover project , which was delayed due to differences of opinion among elected representatives of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), will now be taken up for discussion by the coordination committee of the BJP. VMC's political wing functionaries earlier passed the responsibility to the party as the deadlock continued. The flyover at Sama Crossroads, also called the Abacus Crossroads, was embroiled in controversy after it was suggested that the flyover should be linked to the Urmi bridge on the Vishwamitri river. This suggestion was taken up by VMC officials, and a design that aligned the existing Urmi bridge with the flyover was created. A fresh proposal regarding the unified bridge was also made by officials and presented before the standing committee of the civic body. However, before the proposal could be discussed, another group of corporators visited the site and stated that the idea of joining the bridge was only for the benefit of a few individuals and should be abandoned. They also raised concerns over the cost escalation. Instead of a small flyover costing Rs 56.56 crore, the project cost escalated to Rs 120.71 crore. In light of the deadlock, the ruling BJP decided that the top brass of the city unit should make a decision on the project. Sources said that the coordination committee of the BJP, which includes MLAs from the city, MP, VMC functionaries, and senior BJP city unit members, will now discuss the project. With so many top functionaries involved, there is no certainty regarding the possible outcome. Sources added that there was no word yet on the meeting of the coordination committee of the party. The ongoing process of appointing party functionaries at the ward level and then the city and state level functionaries may even delay the meeting. Project Deadlock Details Abacus Circle Flyover Abacus Circle to Urmi Bridge Length 560m 1,525m Cost Rs 56.56 crore Rs 120.71 crore Design Double pier Single pier Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword . Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes , messages , and quotes .On the other side of the table stood the young prodigy, brimming with energy and raw talent. The 23-year-old player, touted as the future of the sport, brought an aggressive style of play to the table, with lightning-fast reflexes and a fearless attitude that belied his age. It was a clash of generations, a battle between experience and exuberance, and the stage was set for a showdown of epic proportions.
Real Madrid and Atalanta Clash Again After 4 Months, with Real Madrid Winning All 3 Previous MeetingsUkraine must be in strong position for negotiations, Starmer says