Month: August 2021

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Politics

Gary B. Nash, 88, Dies; Drew Ire for Attempting to Replace Historical past Schooling

Gary B. Nash, 88, Dies; Drew Ire for Trying to Update History Education

Before he became famous as Mr. Limbaughs bête noire, Dr. Nash widely recognized as a leading figure in so-called New Left History who rejected the discipline’s traditional focus on elites as movers of history in favor of everyday life.

His book “Red, White and Black: The Peoples of Early America” ​​(1974), for example, looked at the colonial era through the eyes of Indians, working class whites, and free and enslaved blacks.

Although he spent the rest of his life in Los Angeles, Dr. Nash was fond of Philadelphia and often used his hometown to illustrate his man-on-the-street approach. In “The Urban Crucible: The Northern Seaports and the Origins of the American Revolution” (1979), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, he examined how political ideas among sailors, dockworkers and other workers in Philadelphia – including Boston and New York – played a crucial role in the independence movement.

“It changed the focus of what people were doing from the standard study of ideology and ideas to the actions of ordinary people on the ground,” said Mary Beth Norton, a historian at Cornell University, in an interview.

Dr. Nash saw a continuation between his approach to history and his commitment to contemporary education and grassroots politics. After the Watts Riots in 1965, he joined an organization that supported black entrepreneurs. He was working to liquidate Pacific Palisades, the affluent area of ​​Los Angeles where he lived. And after the university’s Board of Regents fired black activist Angela Davis from her post as professor of sociology, Dr. Nash set up a faculty committee to reinstate her.

Although his critics often labeled him anti-American – or worse – Dr. Nash insisted he was optimistic about the country.

“If you were a radical left historian in the United States, you would not have written what he did. He’s always been optimistic about the United States, ”said Carla Pestana, a PhD student with Dr. Nash studied and is now the chairman of UCLA’s history department. “He thought the real story was about common people trying to make the country better.”

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Health

As soon as Once more, Vacationers Ask: ‘Ought to I Cancel My Journey?’

Once Again, Travelers Ask: ‘Should I Cancel My Trip?’

Despite the hospital intensive care units buckling again and the death toll already surpassing 2020 numbers, officials are reluctant to reopen the lockdowns. The result is arbitrary restrictions that vary by city: Chicago enacted an indoor masks mandate Tuesday, joining Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC; New York City Requires Proof of Vaccination for Indoor Dining; While in Las Vegas, event organizers are exempt from the state mask requirement indoors if they can demonstrate that all attendees are fully vaccinated.

Updated

Aug. 21, 2021, 10:11 p.m. ET

But as sporting events progress, restaurants continue to sit indoors and outdoors, and music festivals like the recent Lollapalooza in Chicago determine whether the shows will go on, the decision whether to travel or not is now a personal one.

The reactions to the delta variant are correspondingly different. Zeta Global, a marketing tech company tracking American travel behavior, reports an inverse trend based on vaccination status: hotel stays in states with high vaccination rates have declined in recent months, and trips to hotspots like Florida are among those against Covid-19 19 are vaccinated, but has gained weight in those who are not.

Southwest and Frontier Airlines lowered their earnings expectations this quarter as flight demand slackened. Many airlines were betting on an increase in business travel this fall, which was only just beginning to recover. But as companies, including Facebook and Coca-Cola, are scaling back their plans for going back to the office in the face of the variant, fears that business travel will return to a full streak.

“We observe two different consumer behavior. One is when you make a decision with your own dollars and one when you make a decision with your company’s dollars, ”said Jan Freitag, senior vice president of Accommodation Insights for STR, a hospitality research firm.

Ron Bension, President and Chief Executive of ASM Global, the world’s largest event management company, said that due to the long lead time of conventions and large business events, Delta has simply extended the status quo created in March 2020 and has already canceled. What we’re seeing isn’t a lot of rebooking, ”he said.

For Americans hungry for travel, the Delta variant has brought back a practice well sharpened by the pandemic: waiting.

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World News

Jesse Jackson and His Spouse Are Hospitalized With Covid-19

Jesse Jackson and His Wife Are Hospitalized With Covid-19

Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline were hospitalized after testing positive for Covid-19, Mr Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH coalition said in a statement on Saturday.

Both were treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, The Associated Press reported.

“Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both,” the statement said. No details were given about their condition. Mr. Jackson is 79 and Jacqueline Jackson is 77.

Mr. Jackson was vaccinated in January. He has worked to convince more black Americans to get vaccinated.

“Vaccination is essential to save lives, especially for African Americans, who are disproportionately the greatest victims of the virus,” he said at the time.

He announced in 2017 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

A civil rights advocate for more than 50 years, Mr. Jackson competed for the Democratic presidential nominations in 1984 and 1988. He was a close associate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Entertainment

A Steamy French Thriller Is a ‘Sleeper Smash Hit’

A Steamy French Thriller Is a ‘Sleeper Smash Hit’

“It’s vicarious,” Mr. Goldstein said, trying to explain why a 50-year-old French film starring actors who were largely unknown in America has been such a hit. “It’s a vacation in the south of France that a lot of people can’t take. There’s also the incredible magnetism and chemistry of the two stars, who were real-life lovers.”

The film is classified as a psychological thriller, but to first-time viewers, very little happens until the very end. “Can you believe there’s another hour of this?” I overheard one older woman marvel to her friend near the halfway mark.

“A Bigger Splash,” the marvelous 2015 remake starring Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton, which Americans may be more familiar with, maintains the broad strokes of the plot, but, as the title suggests, it is much splashier. In that version, the drowning is an accidental crime of passion, far from the cold, calculating murder of “La Piscine”; the dialogue is faster, the cuts sharper, the music louder.

Watching it now, having done a deep dive (ahem) into the original, made me acutely aware it was the very absence of action, the unapologetic decadence, that kept pulling me back to the theater. This is not a film interested in passing judgment on la belle vie.

Even as I became more sensitive to the subtleties of the film’s dialogue (“the first swim really takes it out of you,” says Marianne, when Penelope returns from the beach having lost her virginity to Jean-Paul), I remained more interested in simply watching beautiful people do very little. “Tomorrow I will take a long siesta,” Marianne declares, lying on a couch in her bathing suit after a day by the pool. Yes, please.

That a film so grounded in the gratuitous has resonated in 2021 is perhaps not entirely surprising. After a year in which New York City suffered enormous loss and its residents lived heavily circumscribed lives, it’s understandable we are looking to take our clothes off and have a good time, onscreen and off.

Categories
Politics

Giuliani, Bannon, Flynn, Lindell pushed pro-Trump election lies at Guo Wengui social gathering

Giuliani, Bannon, Flynn, Lindell pushed pro-Trump election lies at Guo Wengui party

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (R) greets fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui before introducing him at a news conference on November 20, 2018 in New York, on the death of of tycoon Wang Jian in France on July 3, 2018.

Don Emmert | AFP | Getty Images

It was supposed to be a celebration for a movement that opposes the Chinese Communist Party.

Instead, the swanky private party, held in June at the top of One World Trade Center, served as a platform for several of former President Donald Trump’s allies, including former advisor Steve Bannon and personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, to spew anti-government rhetoric and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

The invitation-only event was hosted by a couple of shadowy nonprofits, the Rule of Law Foundation and the Rule of Law Society. They are linked to Guo Wengui, a wealthy exiled businessman from China who is an ardent opponent of that nation’s ruling Communist Party.

CNBC obtained a copy of the invitation, which lists Guo, Bannon and the two new chairs of the nonprofit organizations as speakers for the event. You can view the invitation here.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former Trump national security advisor Mike Flynn, both known for pushing the false theory that claims the election was stolen from Trump, also spoke at the June 3 gathering.

“It’s like on the battlefield because this is warfare,” Flynn said at the event, which included lunch, dinner and afternoon tea. “This is warfare that we are in.”

It was streamed on YouTube, which has 30,000 views so far. Neither the YouTube video nor the invitation to the event have been reported on.

Read some of the remarks made at the event:

A person familiar with the event said there could have been up to 200 people in attendance at Aspire, a catering hall located on the 102nd floor of One World Trade Center.

A sales manager at Aspire would not confirm details of the Guo-supported event, although the manager said a 12-hour, 200-guest event with lunch and dinner stations could cost nearly $185,000.

The Rule of Law Society and the Rule of Law Foundation describe themselves as a resource for whistleblowers who want to safely speak out against the Chinese government. Guo fled China in 2014 in anticipation of corruption charges. After he blasted China’s leadership, warrants were reportedly issued for his arrest on charges that included corruption and bribery.

Press representatives for the Guo-linked foundations, Bannon, Flynn and Giuliani did not respond to requests for comment.

A misinformation offensive

The conspiracy theories and speakers heard at the event fit a pattern for the Guo-backed organizations. The nonprofits are cited in a report by Graphika, which describes a “network [that] acts as a prolific producer and amplifier of mis- and disinformation, including claims of voter fraud in the U.S., false information about Covid-19, and QAnon narratives.”

Bannon left his role as chair of the Rule of Law Society last summer. His departure from the board came around the time he was arrested on Guo’s yacht for allegedly defrauding donors through his “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign. Bannon pleaded not guilty at the time and was later pardoned by Trump.

The invitation to the June event lists Dinggang Wang, a Guo associate and anti-Chinese government YouTube star, as a new chair of the Rule of Law Society. Wang, according to a report by NBC News, appears to have previously helped spread Covid misinformation and conspiracy theories about President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, during the election.

The invitation lists among its topics the “Chinese Communist Party Virus” and “CCP’s existential threat to the US and the world.” But there is no clear indication that people would discuss the 2020 election. Biden defeated Trump, who has continued to lie about how it was stolen from him.

The event was described as a commemoration of a Guo-linked movement known as the New Federal State of China.

“It is with great pleasure and joy that we invite you to join us in New York City for the first anniversary of The New Federal State of China (NFSC),” the invitation read.

At the event, Bannon and Lindell contended that China interfered in the election.

CNBC Politics

Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:

A government report, declassified in March by the director of national intelligence, said there were “no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 U.S. elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation or reporting results.”

The report also noted that intelligence agencies found that China “did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.” The report does note that intelligence analysts also assessed that “China did take some steps to try to undermine former President Trump’s reelection.”

Flynn at the Guo-backed party falsely claimed that Trump won the election over Biden. Giuliani took aim at Hunter Biden and the Biden family as a whole, among other conspiracies.

The election claims made by Trump, Bannon, Lindell, Flynn, Giuliani and other allies of the former president have been debunked across the board, including by Republicans and one-time members of the Trump administration.

Then-Attorney General Bill Barr told The Associated Press shortly after Biden was projected to be the winner of the 2020 election that the FBI found no signs of widespread voter fraud.

Trump’s campaign still went on to spend millions to fight a losing battle against the election results. As Congress was signing off on the election results Jan. 6, Trump encouraged his supporters to march on Capitol Hill. The ensuing riot and invasion of Congress led to several deaths and hundreds of federal prosecutions.

Here are some of the notable things said by the leading pro-Trump voices at the One World Trade Center event.

Steve Bannon

Steve Bannon speaks at one year anniversary celebration of the New Federal State of China.

Source: Rule of Law Society | YouTube

“The quality of people that you have brought here today. You are going to have Gen. Mike Flynn. You are going to have Mike Lindell,” Bannon said. “He’s [Lindell] suing Dominion because of the Chinese Communist Party. He’s going to show in court that the Chinese Communist Party actually did cyberattacks on our Nov. 3 election,” Bannon noted.

Moments before Lindell spoke at the event, Bannon said that Lindell’s lawsuits against voting machine companies Dominion and Smartmatic will prove that China interfered in the 2020 election to defeat Trump. Dominion is also suing Lindell.

“Here’s what’s important. He has a lawsuit that he’s going to take to the Supreme Court that’s going to show the Chinese Communist Party interfered in the 2020 election to defeat Donald J. Trump,” Bannon said of Lindell.

Lindell’s claims have been debunked.

Mike Flynn

Source: Rule of Law Society | YouTube

Before Lindell took the stage, Flynn, whom Trump forced out barely a month into his administration, gave his take on the election and suggested that people are planning further fights against the federal government.

“I’m fed up with our government. I’m fed up with the corruption that we’ve experienced and that has been exposed,” Flynn told the crowd. “We have hundreds of millions of people in this country that they see it for what it is. They see the authenticity of a Donald Trump. They know President Trump won this last election. There’s no doubt about it.”

He added: “Where are we as America today? Where are we? And I will tell you. There are hundreds of millions of people around this country that are not about to give this country up. There are patriots everywhere. And I mean 10’s, 20 million people.”

Trump pardoned Flynn in November, two years after the retired lieutenant general pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Mike Lindell

Steve Bannon and Mike Lindell speak at one year anniversary celebration of the New Federal State of China.

Steve Bannon and Mike Lindell speak at an event celebrating the first anniversary of the Inauguration of New Federal State of China.

Lindell, the pillow kingpin who became a leading voice on the extreme right, showed a clip from his new film titled “Absolutely 9-0.” In the film clip, Lindell speaks to an anonymous cybersecurity expert who claims to have proof that China interfered in the election.

The conservative-leaning outlet The Dispatch spoke to experts who questioned the legitimacy of many of Lindell’s claims in the film. This month, Lindell hosted what he called a “Cyber Symposium,” where he said he would make public the evidence he had showing that China hacked the 2020 election. Reporters who attended the event said Lindell did not show any evidence proving his claims.

The private anti-China event in June proved to be another moment for Lindell to push his election claims. Lindell claimed in his speech that he found evidence showing China’s attempts to interfere in the election.

“When this does get to the Supreme Court the biggest win here is that they look at it. They have to look at it and they’re going to be heroes because we are going to show them that the CCP used the Democrat Party to attack our country through these machines,” Lindell said.

Lindell explained in a phone interview Wednesday with CNBC that he was invited to the event by Bannon himself and he did not know Guo.

Lindell stood by his belief that China interfered in the election. However, he would not commit to a specific date to release his purported evidence to the public. He also said he had not seen the report by the U.S. intelligence community that explains China did not interfere in the presidential election.

“This happened. It’s real,” Lindell told CNBC. “It’s one of the biggest cover-ups of the biggest crime in history.”

Rudy Giuliani

Source: Rule of Law Society | YouTube

Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor and mayor of New York, was among the last speakers at the event. Giuliani’s license to practice law was suspended both in New York and Washington, D.C., due to the false election claims he is spreading.

At the Guo-backed event, Giuliani took aim at Covid restrictions that were put in place by Democratic governors.

“You could see what I call the dictatorial instincts of socialists in Gov. Newsom, in Gov. Whitmer, in Gov. Cuomo. Just give them a little opportunity to exercise authority and they are going to slam down on you,” Giuliani said, slamming his hand onto the podium.

“Arresting people in handcuffs for not wearing a mask?” Giuliani asked the crowd. “Looks a little like Berlin in the 1930s, huh?” he later added, referring to Nazi Germany.

Giuliani then revisited the Hunter Biden conspiracy. Giuliani’s New York City apartment was raided almost two months before the Guo event. It was reportedly part of a probe into the former New York mayor’s dealings in Ukraine. Giuliani had been trying to dig up dirt on Biden’s son’s business dealings in Ukraine during the election.

“You can’t go through three days without a crime being committed by one of the Bidens,” Giuliani said while describing the evidence he has reviewed against the Biden family, including a hard drive, a copy of which was purportedly provided to the New York Post.

“They are basically a crime family. They started 30 years ago selling his office, for little money. Then big money. Then when he became vice president, there’s a pattern to it.”

Video of the event:

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Health

Washington state infections and hospitalizations hit document

Washington state infections and hospitalizations hit record

An infection control nurse accompanies a patient who was born on Jan.

Karen Ducey | Getty Images

Covid-19 transmissions and hospitalizations in Washington state are at all-time highs, according to the state’s Department of Health.

On July 8, Washington recorded a Covid infection prevalence of 1 in 588 residents. Just one month later, on August 6, that number almost quadrupled to a Covid infection prevalence of 1 in 156 residents, the department said on Thursday. The latest numbers exceeded those of the state’s third wave of Covid infections in the winter of 2020.

According to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University, Washington state reports a seven-day average of 38.5 daily new cases per 100,000 population, ranking 22nd among all states.

Four counties had 14-day new infection rates of 500 per 100,000 Washington residents and five counties had rates of 300 to 500 per 100,000 residents. Sixteen counties had rates from 200 to 300 and 12 counties had rates from 100 to 200. The delta variant accounts for 98% of the cases in the state.

Hospital admissions in the state also rose, with a seven-day moving average of 29 hospital admissions for Covid on June 16. The number remained relatively low through July 8, but tripled by August 6 to a seven-day moving average of 96 hospital admissions for Covid symptoms. The state found that hospital admissions for people between the ages of 20 and 30 have increased, a trend seen in hospitals across the country as most older Americans were vaccinated.

Admissions to state hospitals for the unvaccinated and over 65s are six times higher than for those who are fully vaccinated. In people aged 16 to 64, unvaccinated people are ten times more likely to be hospitalized than their vaccinated counterparts. “If the entire population were to experience the hospitalization rates currently observed in unvaccinated people, the hospital system would be completely overwhelmed,” the state health department said in a statement.

Death rates have been down since Jan.

Immunity to prior infection in the state is only 15.5%, which would leave 84.5% of Washington residents unprotected if they did not have access to Covid-19 vaccines. According to the Ministry of Health, by August 16, 71.5% of the population aged 12 and over had received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine.

In the nationwide population, immunity to previous infections and vaccinations is 54.7%, an increase of only 2.8% since July 6.

“It is imperative to realize that literally any of us or our loved ones could be in need of hospital treatment in the near future,” said Acting State Science Director Dr. Scott Lindquist. “To ensure that care is available when needed, our hospitals are currently counting on each of us to be masked and vaccinated.”

CNBC’s Nate Rattner contributed to this report.

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Health

Barbara Kannapell, Activist Who Empowered Deaf Individuals, Dies at 83

Barbara Kannapell, Activist Who Empowered Deaf People, Dies at 83

Her parents attended Gallaudet, and Barbara, known as Kanny, followed in their footsteps and earned her bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education in 1961. In 1970 she received a master’s degree in educational technology from the Catholic University of America in Washington. For her dissertation in Georgetown, where she completed her PhD in 1985, she examined the attitudes of 200 Gallaudet students and found that 62 percent of them considered themselves bilingual in ASL and English.

After graduating from Gallaudet, she began four decades at the university, starting in 1962 as a research assistant. Her last position there was from 1987 to 2003 as an associate professor. She also taught at the Community College of Baltimore County, where she began as an adjunct professor in 1997 and retired as an adjunct professor in 2014.

She met Ms. Paul, who was a writer and editor and advisor on women’s leadership (she is now retired), in 1971 at a gay bar in Washington, Ms. Paul said in an interview. The bar had phones on the tables so people could call other tables. Ms. Paul listening was with a friend who was Dr. Kannapell’s desk called, but everyone there was deaf and couldn’t hear the phone. So Mrs. Paul and her friend went and introduced themselves personally.

“The next day I ran to the library and looked for anything I could find about the deaf,” said Ms. Paul. She then met with Dr. Kannapell for lunch, where they agreed in writing.

Their relationship blossomed. When same-sex marriage was illegal, they held an engagement ceremony; they married in 2013 in the District of Columbia. Paul is the only immediate survivor of Dr. Kannapell.

Among the many interests of Dr. Kannapell, she was fascinated by the experiences of deaf Americans during World War II. Over the decades, she gathered a wealth of data, including interviews with deaf people who had worked in war factories and material she received from deaf people and their descendants. She published an early summary of her research in 2002 in the journal of the National Association of the Deaf, entitled “Forgotten Americans: Deaf War Plant Workers in World War II”.

Ms. Paul and various colleagues plan to complete their project and publish it in the near future.

Categories
Politics

Miscue After Miscue, U.S. Exit Plan Unravels

Miscue After Miscue, U.S. Exit Plan Unravels

A week later, on July 2, Mr. Biden in an exuberant mood gathered a small group of reporters to celebrate new job numbers that he believed showed his plan for economic recovery was working. But all the questions he received concerned news from Afghanistan that the United States had left Bagram Air Force Base without the Afghans being aware of it.

“It’s a rational setback with our allies,” he insisted, “so there’s nothing unusual about it.”

But when the questions were about Afghanistan, not the economy, he became visibly upset. Recalling Mr. Ghani’s visit, he said, “I think you have the ability to support the government,” although he added that there must be negotiations with the Taliban.

Then, for the first time, he was urged about what the government would do to save Kabul if it were directly attacked. “I want to talk about happy things, man,” he said. He insisted there was a plan.

“We have worked out a capacity beyond the horizon,” he said, which means the government had contingency plans in case things go bad. “But the Afghans have to be able to do it themselves with the air force they have, and we’re helping them maintain it,” he said. But by then most of the US contractors who had helped keep the Afghan planes flying had withdrawn from Bagram along with the troops. Military and intelligence officials admit they were concerned the Afghans would not be able to stay in the air.

On July 8, almost all American forces had left Afghanistan when the Taliban continued their deployment across the country. In a White House speech that day defending his decision to exit, Mr Biden was in a fix when he tried to express his skepticism about the capabilities of the Afghan armed forces while being careful not to undermine their government . He then reacted angrily to a reporter’s comparison with Vietnam, insisting that “there will be no circumstance in which Afghan people are lifted off the roof of a US embassy. It is not at all comparable. “

Understanding the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

Map 1 of 5

Who are the Taliban? The Taliban emerged in 1994 amid the unrest following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including flogging, amputation and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Here is more about their genesis and track record as rulers.

Who are the Taliban leaders? These are the top leaders of the Taliban, men who for years have been on the run, in hiding, in prison and dodged American drones. Little is known about them or how they plan to rule, including whether they will be as tolerant as they say they are.

What is happening to the women of Afghanistan? When the Taliban was last in power, they banned women and girls from most jobs or from going to school. Afghan women have gained a lot since the Taliban was overthrown, but now they fear that they are losing ground. Taliban officials are trying to reassure women that things will be different, but there are indications that they have begun to reintroduce the old order in at least some areas.

But five days later, nearly two dozen American diplomats, all in the Kabul embassy, ​​sent a memo directly to Mr. Blinken via the State Department’s “Dissent” channel. First reported in the Wall Street Journal, the Telegram called for Afghan evacuation flights to start in two weeks and that administration speed up to register them for visas.

The next day, in an already ongoing move, the White House named an intensified effort “Operation Allies Refuge”.

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World News

‘I stay on $47 a day — right here’s how I spend my time’

'I live on $47 a day — here’s how I spend my time'

Before Covid hit in March last year, I was making a decent income of about $4,000 per month as a freelance video producer. But as the pandemic intensified, those gig earnings quickly dwindled to $700.

Due to all the uncertainty about the future, I found myself sleeping on a futon at my sister’s house in New Jersey. I felt restless and missed all the traveling I used to do for work.

But a few months later, my prayers were answered: Croatia announced that it would start offering a one-year residence permit to digital nomads (anyone outside of the European Union working remotely) in January 2021.

I had visited Croatia before and was utterly captivated by the country, so I decided to apply.

Getting Croatia’s digital nomad residence permit

I did a lot of prep work between April and December before getting approved for the permit.

The application processing fee was $100, and to qualify, I needed to have a monthly income of at least $2,750. So throughout the following months, I aggressively built a recurring income stream from freelance gigs (video producing and copywriting) through Upwork.

By December, I was back to making around $4,000 per month. I was also an obsessive saver and rarely spent my earnings. So with the $76,000 I had in my savings account, I felt financially secure enough to live abroad.

Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards

A beautiful street in the heart of downtown Split

Photo: Steve Tsentserensky

In addition to the income requirement, I needed to show proof of international health insurance (which I got through a U.S.-based travel insurance company called Seven Corners), obtain an FBI background check and provide an address I’d be staying at.

I spend much less in Croatia than in the U.S.

I currently live in Split, Croatia’s second-largest city, located on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea.

The views are gorgeous, and the cost of living is much cheaper compared to most major U.S. cities. The average rent for a one-bedroom in Jersey City, for example, is $2,779 (not including utilities), according to rental listing website RentCafe.

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Steve Tsentserensky’s average monthly spending

Gene Woo Kim | CNBC Make It

I live by myself in a 650-square-foot apartment, which I found through a Facebook group for expats in Croatia. I’m renting directly from the owner for $540 (including utilities) per month.

Marmontova Ulica, a busy street in Split filled with several shops and restaurants. Pictured in the distance is the island of Brač.

Photo: Steve Tsentserensky

I spend an average of $47 a day. Here’s a breakdown (as of June 2021):

  • Rent and utilities: $540
  • Health insurance: $65
  • Food (groceries, eating out and drinks): $608
  • Subscriptions: $14
  • Phone: $12
  • Recreational travel: $185

Total: $1,424

How I spend my days

As soon as my alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m., I’ll make some Turkish coffee and have a simple breakfast — usually some eggs, vegetables, cheese and toasted bread.

Then I dive straight into my freelance projects. I try to put in about eight hours of work on weekdays. Since most of my clients are based in the U.S., I’ll schedule work calls on Eastern or Pacific Standard Time.

If I feel like eating out for lunch ($10 to $14, including tip), there are several places within walking distance. I love trips to the bakery for a tasty burek, a savory pastry typically filled with meat or cheese ($2 to $3).

A cheese burek and a double espresso at a café in Split costs around $5.

Photo: Steve Tsentserensky

A nice dinner on the coast will include lots of seafood dishes like tuna, octopus and squid ink risotto ($18 to $30, including drinks and tip).

Squid ink risotto and a beer from Dujkin Dvorlocal, a local restaurant in Split, for just under $18.

Photo: Steve Tsentserensky

I’m a pretty social person, and I’ve met a lot of great people in Split — both locals and other expats. On weekends, I could spend hours having meaningful conversations with friends over $2 espressos.

From my apartment, I’m a three-minute walk to the famed ruins of Diocletian’s Palace. Built at the turn of the fourth century and considered the heart of the city, the streets of this UNESCO World Heritage Site have been worn smooth by pedestrians.

The famed ruins of Diocletian’s Palace

Photo: Steve Tsentserensky

I’m also six minutes from the Riva, a waterfront promenade filled with cafés, bars restaurants and shops.

At 35, traveling has always been an essential part of my life. Since arriving in Croatia, I’ve taken a number of trips to see more of this endlessly beautiful country.

A few places I’ve been to: Zagreb (where I lived for a few months), Rijeka, Zadar, and the islands of Hvar and Brač. Most recently, I took a two-hour bus ride ($28 for a round trip) to Zaton.

A view of the Zagreb Cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral-church and the second tallest building in Croatia.

Photo: Steve Tsentserensky

The pace of life in Croatia is dramatically different — and much more my speed — than in New Jersey. When you combine that with the affordability, friendly people, fun activities and low crime rates, there isn’t much to complain about.

Continuing the nomadic life

One of the downsides of working and living abroad is missing and being far from my family and friends, so I’m hoping to take a trip back home at some point.

One of Split’s most iconic attractions is the Cathedral of St. Domnius — filled with murals, carved altars and a steep bell tower.

Photo: Steve Tsentserensky

While Croatia will forever hold a place in my heart, several other countries, including Georgia and Portugal, also offer digital nomad visas. Once my permit here expires in March 2022, I plan to take advantages of those opportunities and continue the nomadic life for as long as I can.

The freedom to work from anywhere and chart your own course is a bit addictive, and the spontaneity of it is a big part of what brings me joy.

Steve Tsentserensky is a video producer, photographer and writer. He currently lives in Croatia through a digital nomad residence permit. Follow him on Instagram.

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Health

FDA approval for Pfizer Covid vaccine might come Monday, report says

FDA approval for Pfizer Covid vaccine could come Monday, report says

Empty Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine vials will be delivered on Jan.

Paul Hennessy | NurPhoto | Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration is working on the approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, the New York Times reported, citing sources.

The review process could go beyond that date, the Times said, as paperwork and negotiations with the company continue.

The move would make it the first Covid vaccine to move from emergency approval to full FDA approval.

The FDA declined to comment on the Times report to CNBC.

White House senior medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, told the Associated Press on Aug. 8 that he hoped vaccines would get full approval “within the month of August,” adding that full approval would lead to more companies and schools requiring vaccines.

U.S. companies have tightened vaccination regulations for employees as Covid cases have increased across the country in recent weeks, and some cited full FDA approval as part of the decision-making process.

Full approval could also help convince people who are reluctant to get vaccinated until the FDA has fully approved the vaccination.

According to CDC data on Friday, more than 203 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine have been administered nationwide, fully vaccinating more than 91 million people in the United States.

Pfizer and BioNTech began applying for their biologics license for the two-dose vaccine in May after receiving emergency clearance from the FDA in December. The FDA sets a six month target for approval of high priority drugs.

If formally approved, Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine would remain available in the market after the pandemic ended and the companies could promote the vaccine directly to consumers. Pharmaceutical manufacturers with an EUA are banned from promoting their vaccines, CNBC previously reported.

The companies announced on Aug. 16 that they had initiated the approval process for a booster dose for fully vaccinated individuals after submitting clinical trial data to the FDA.

Top health officials from agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House and the FDA said in a statement Wednesday that the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines declines over time, especially in those with compromised immune systems. They said the US would start distributing booster shots to the public in September.

Read the full New York Times report here.