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15% or 1000 of 6800 Yale Students get free tution at $75,000 cutoff income level for free tution since 2020.  With $200,000 as the new cutoff for incomes getting free tution it would cost Yale $72 million more, $72,000 being the tution cost per year and additional 1000 students getting free tution at the new cutoff income level. This suggests it only costs Yale $72 million to look like it is doing something for the middle class that cannot afford Yale's high undergrad tution. But what is Yale doing about the high undergrad tution? Yale Tution goes up from 31,000 in 2005 to $48,000 in 2015, and up further to $72,000 per year for undergrads in 2025. In percentage terms the increase in last ten years is 50% and comparing 2025 to 2005 over 20 years it is up 232%, and comparing 2015 to 2005 it is up 55%. There is no slowdown in the increase in cost of tution at Yale for affordability. Middle class is being squeezed. Parents have to go into savings to send a child to these upper tier schools, as reported in WSJ, with incomes of $250,000 not enough to payoff huge tution fees of undergrads when there are 2 or 3 kids going to college. For Yale it is about business as usual as it can afford the additional $72 million for 1000 more students to be added at free tution- its endowment is at an hefty $44 billion which can easily handle that $72 million added cost to look good in front of the public while leaving things the same in terms of affordability and cost. All down the line at the second tier schools the situation is the same, only down the line when it comes to state universities do things change, but only a bit. It leaves Americans with the feeling that this system is also fundamentally flawed like the health care system and needs complete overhaul. ...

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Marchione says in atalk at the Peterson Institute that Chrysler had alot of problems in bankruptcy that were not fixed, including not getting new powertrains and vehicles. "We're not perfect. We're going to continue to screw up." But he said that Chrysler is now doing alot less now than 6 months ago. This focus may help him deliver.

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Significant results for the ruling Congress party in India as the voters reelect Sheila Dikshit for a third term for Delhi city state, and as Congress wins election in Rajasthan state and in Mizoram. The election results showed that the local issues played a bigger part, and the voters did not respond to communal ideas or to vote against the central government because of the terrorist attacks in Bombay. This is overall a good sign as voters were turned off against all politicians when it comes to their ability to ensure public safety, and economic and other issues as well as accountability for public safety and not a kneejerk reaction to events like the Mumbai atttacks is what determined the results in these states. As elections for the whole country's central government take place before May, 2009, this is an oportunity for the Congress to look to voters for support of its economic agenda and for the opposition parties including the BJP to show what they could do better in the present global financial crisis that is affecting both China and India's growth rates....

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WSJ Editorial Board on Iran strategy to have low level skirmishes and missile attacks for the rest of 2026 and keep Hormuz on ship by ship basis essentially blocked. Most of the oil through Hormuz going to teapot refineries in China, some to Japan and India. Alternative US supplies have to be arranged for India and Japan, nuclear, renewables have to be accelerated immediately as this is the likely scenario. China would have to look for alternate supplies. It is not just the US response, how will China, India and Japan respond to get alternate supplies, how are their governments preparing for this scenario? France announced it is going to go all out on electric cars to cut use of oil.

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Merz popularity dips slightly as he brings up tough issues such as 4 days work weeks in Germany, Many working part time and CDU calling for restricting part time to workers giving care to elderly, childcare, and for education. The German welfare payments close to minimum wage was an issue in Germany but is declining in significance. Most significant today at 35% is the issue of social inequality. Taxes unfairly distributed at 13%, and the asylum seekers issue at 9% lower today by 2%. On the economy Merz pointed out that- "Prosperity cannot be maintained with a four-day work week and an exaggerated work-life balance." He also criticized the high number of sick leave days at 14.5 average days sick leave per employee per year. Polls in February 2026 show CDU at 26%, SPD at 15%, Greens at 12%, Left at 10%, AfD at 24%, FDP 3% BSW 3%. Popularity in Germany is highest for defense minister Pistorius and next comes foreign minister Wadephul. Merz is less popular but he is raising the tough issues and taking strong action compared to Merkel who was more interested in her personal popularity than what was good for Germany. Also not given credit for action is Merz removing constitutional brake on spending for investing in Germany's infrastructure and defense, and fixing problems left behind by Merkel who neglected infrastructure, digital economy, and defense. ...

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Changes in former French colonies in North Africa including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia with the increasing use of English in schools and colleges alongside French and local languages is shown here in FR24.

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During the Republican Senate campaign in 2022 to replace Pat Toomey, both candidates Oz and McCormick had assets over $100 million according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. This seat was won by Dan Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania. The contrast between the wealthy and the middle class candidates and their distance from average Americans struggling to make a living was very clear, almost similar to the billionaire former president and the Harris-Walz Middle class candidates vowing to rebuild the American middle class atrophied from outsourcing of jobs overseas and wages falling behind cost of living for ordinary workers.

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Here are tips on setting  up covid vaccine appointments. Using your phone is important to look up vaccine offering places and governmental health organizations, signing up successfully with personal information, and being very quick to respond when a response is received offering the vaccine. Getting the first spot available is key to getting the process of vaccination started. The vaccine slots get filled very quickly making it critical to act fast. Once one has found the right website and registered one's information the process works for India and the US. Appointments can be setup for older relatives in India or in the US after one has entered one's information for address and phone number, email.

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Add beans, peas and lentils, commonly known as pulses to your diet. High in protein and fiber these are some of the most affordable but not talked about much. Americans take about half a cup of beans each week which Christopher Gardner calls an insanely small amount. He is director of nutrition of the Stanford Prevention Research Center. “That’s an insanely small amount, given that beans, peas and lentils are such a powerhouse of protein and fiber and other nutrients. Nutrient-wise they have all of the good stuff and none of the bad stuff — and they tend to be a lot less expensive than other foods. There are few foods that cost as little as beans, peas and lentils.” A single cup of cooked lentils has 18 grams of protein- more protein than 3 large eggs, and it is fre of cholesterol and low in saturated fat. And it has 16 grams of fiber - about half of the recommended daily amount a adult should take. Try adding them to your daily meals and gradually increase intake. Try hummus as a dip or snack on chickpeas in salad. Take them in Mexican, Italian or Asian flavors. In today's inflation environment a pound of dried beans at 1.70 compares with $6 for a pound of ground beef, $4.20 a pound for chicken breast, and $4.60 for a dozen large eggs.      ...