Tag: Family

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Politics

Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt’s household to hunt $10 million from USCP in lawsuit

Two charged with assaulting police officer Brian Sicknick in Capitol riot

A cloud of colored smoke appears as a crowd of US President Donald Trump supporters storm the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021.

Leah Millis | Reuters

Ashli ​​Babbitt’s family, who were fatally shot in the January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol, are planning to sue the police and the officer who fired the gun for at least $ 10 million.

The news of the impending lawsuit, first reported by Newsweek, came more than two weeks after the Justice Department announced it would not file a criminal complaint against the officer who killed Babbitt.

Terrell Roberts, a lawyer for the Babbitt family, told CNBC Thursday that it had not determined when or in which court the civil lawsuit against the US Capitol Police would be filed.

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The $ 10 million figure, Roberts said, is an estimate of financial losses that include the value of Babbitt’s “services to her husband and combined with Ashli’s potential income had she lived.”

“Recovery potential for non-financial losses is also factored into the amount,” said Roberts.

Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, was among the hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol on January 6 and thwarted Congress’s efforts to confirm President Joe Biden’s election victory.

The invasion that followed Trump and insisted on a nearby rally that his supporters march to the Capitol and pressure Republicans not to accept the election results forced the USCP to evacuate federal lawmakers.

The invasion resulted in five deaths.

Babbitt and a group of rioters were given access to a hallway in front of the speaker’s lobby that leads to the chamber of the house.

She tried to climb headfirst through the broken glass window of a door that separated the hall from the lobby, which had been barricaded with furniture from inside. Other members of the crowd broke chunks of glass on the doors while beating them “with their hands, flagpoles, helmets and other items,” the Justice Department said.

Babbitt was once shot in the left shoulder by an officer in the lobby who had drawn his service pistol. She fell backwards on the floor. She was taken to the Washington Hospital Center, where she died, the DOJ said.

The agency announced on April 14 that it had stopped investigating the shooting and would not file criminal charges against the unpublished officer. The family rejected the DOJ’s decision and promised to bring civil lawsuits.

Roberts said he would send a notice to the USCP “within the next 10 days” stating his intention to file a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, DC, Newsweek reported Thursday.

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World News

For Prince Philip, Royal Household Plans Pandemic-Muted Honors

For Prince Philip, Royal Family Plans Pandemic-Muted Honors

As they mourned Prince Philip, who through 73 years of marriage to Queen Elizabeth II helped maintain a monarchy that many in the modern world saw as out of place, the royal family and nation struggled to give him their final honors pay amid a pandemic when mass gatherings are banned.

Honors and condolences came from all over Britain and around the world, and small crowds gathered in front of Windsor Castle, where the 99-year-old prince died, and in front of Buckingham Palace in London, despite rules that forbade gatherings of more than six people outside . Many of the gathering put bouquets of flowers at the boundary gates.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will not be in public. His funeral takes place in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle rather than a much larger and more public venue like Westminster Abbey in London. Due to the pandemic, it will not be open to the public. Further details are expected to be released on Saturday.

His death follows a traumatic 13 months in which Covid-19 killed more than 150,000 Britons – by far the highest official number in Europe – and social distancing requirements have taken the usual commemorations from millions of survivors. Now it is the nation’s most prominent family dealing with the same subject. The UK currently does not allow more than 30 people to attend a funeral.

The hushed treatment of Philip’s death not only reflects the time, but also the prince, who occasionally enjoyed draining the stuffy pomp that surrounds the monarchy as well as the self-important expressions of others, pointing out that he was only showing himself to be significant viewed as an extension of his wife.

His predilection for abusive and bigoted comments and the image of him as a cold father made Philip a somewhat problematic public figure for the now 94-year-old Queen and the royal family. However, by the 1990s, his controversies were overshadowed by those of his children, and his growing age made his sharp tongue irritating or simply more irrelevant than offensive to many people.

The prince’s devotion to the queen during the longest marriage in British royal history, despite some rocky times at the beginning, and the maintenance and modernization of the monarchy enhanced his popularity, as did his persistent adherence to a schedule of charities, ribbon cuts, and travel right up to his 90s. He received support from the popular series “The Crown”, in which he matured into a wise and committed, if emotionally distant, figure.

Again and again people who pay tribute on Wednesday quoted Philip’s obligation to duty.

“I just have so much respect for Prince Philip and everything he’s done,” said Britta Bia, 53, in front of Buckingham Palace, the headquarters of the royal household. “I have so much respect for the royal family. I think they did so much for charity, and I think they were senior citizens of the Commonwealth. “

Philip served in the Royal Navy and saw combat during World War II. “Out of this conflict, he adopted an ethic of service that he applied during the unprecedented changes of the post-war era,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at 10 Downing Street.

In a statement, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden said: “The impact of his decades of dedicated public service is evident in the worthy causes he has given, as the patron of the environmental efforts he advocates, to the members of the armed forces he serves supported, among the young people he inspired, and much more. “

Chancellor Angela Merkel quoted the Prince’s “straightforwardness and his sense of duty”.

Last month, the royal family experienced an unusually painful and public outpouring of inner tensions when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gave Oprah Winfrey an interview explaining their clashes at the palace and their decision to move to California. Philip, Harry’s paternal grandfather, was not mentioned as a factor, but royals defenders attacked the young couple for stressing the family at a time when Philip was hospitalized and appeared to be ill.

The decision not to give Philip a state funeral and leave him in the state is what he wanted, according to the College of Arms, part of the royal household that helps organize state events. The last wife of a late monarch, Queen Elizabeth’s mother, also known as Elizabeth, was in the state after her death in 2002.

“It is regrettably asked that the public not attempt to attend or attend any of the events that make up the funeral,” the College of Arms said in a statement.

The palace said Philip died peacefully and did not cite a specific cause, but he did not have a coronavirus. He had been hospitalized several times in the past decade, including one for treatment for a blocked coronary artery. In an increasingly frail condition, he resigned from his public duties in 2017.

That year he was hospitalized for four weeks and had an operation on March 3, which the palace described as just pre-existing heart disease. He was also treated for an unspecified infection. He was released on March 16, just 24 days before his death.

Elian Peltier, Stephen Castle, Derrick Bryson Taylor, Geneva Abdul, Alex Marshall and Daniel Victor contributed to the coverage.

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Business

Household Federal Training Mortgage Debtors Get a Reprieve if They Have Defaulted

Family Federal Education Loan Borrowers Get a Reprieve if They Have Defaulted

Approximately one million student loan borrowers who have been excluded from previous relief efforts will receive redress – but only if they have defaulted on their loans.

The Department of Education announced Tuesday that it will temporarily cease collecting defaulted loans that are privately held under the Family Federal Education Loans program.

“Our goal is to give these defaulted borrowers the same protection that was previously given to tens of millions of other borrowers,” said Education Minister Miguel Cardona.

However, the change still leaves millions of other borrowers in this program responsible for making payments while the bulk of the country’s student loan borrowers have taken a break.

As of March last, 43 million borrowers with federal government-held loans have had the option to stop their payments. However, around six million borrowers whose loans were part of the Family Federal Education Loans (FFEL) program were left out because the government did not own the loans.

For many decades, federal student loans were government insured but were made by private lenders. In 2010, Congress ended this system and switched to direct education loans. During the Great Recession, the government bought some – but not all – of the existing federal loans from private lenders.

This resulted in a two-tier system last year when the education department put the loans it holds directly, including the FFEL loans it owned, on pandemic break. Loans that were still privately owned were not affected.

Tuesday’s move is not helping borrowers who are still making payments on those privately held FFEL loans or who are just a few months behind schedule. According to the Department of Education, there are roughly 5.4 million borrowers in this category who together owe $ 134 billion.

Tuesday’s announcement is designed to prevent defaulted borrowers from having their tax refunds seized by the Treasury Department through a program often used to collect past due student loan debts. Any seized refunds or garnishments made since March 2020 will be refunded retrospectively, the education department said.

The freeze will last through September 30th, when collections are due to restart for all federal student loans. Almost everyone who is eligible for the freeze has made use of it: of the almost 43 million people with federal loans, only 400,000 make payments, according to the Ministry of Education.

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Politics

Biden to push infrastructure earlier than well being and household care

Biden to push infrastructure before health and family care

A crack across the street can be seen as Nevada Department of Transportation officer Jarrid Summerfelt repairs damage to U.S. Highway 95 after a major earthquake near Tonopah, Nevada, on May 15, 2020.

David Becker | Reuters

President Joe Biden will split his sweeping plan to improve the country’s infrastructure into two separate parts, which he will reveal every few weeks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday.

Psaki told Fox News on Sunday that Biden will unveil the first part of his plan on Wednesday, which will focus on things like rebuilding roads and railways. The second part of Biden’s plan will include childcare and health care reforms – aspects of so-called social infrastructure – and will be released “in just a few weeks,” she said.

The New York Times reported Monday that Biden’s advisors recommended Biden to separate traditional infrastructure proposals from the other aspects of his plan in order to ease the burden of social services on families. Overall, the legislation is expected to cost more than $ 3 trillion.

Some Biden advisors believe splitting the package and calling for the road and bridge proposal may make it easier to get Republican support, the Times reported. Documents verified by the newspaper showed it could include $ 1 trillion, mainly used to build and repair physical infrastructure with an emphasis on tackling climate change.

The second part of Biden’s plan would include proposals like Free Community College and Universal Prekindergarten, the Times reported. Psaki said the second plan would “address many of the issues Americans face,” citing childcare and health care costs.

Psaki suggested that Biden’s proposal could go hand in hand with tax increases, but declined to provide details.

“The whole package that we are still working on, but he will introduce some payment options and he is excited to hear ideas from both parties as well,” she said.

Biden has said that he intends to levy taxes on high net worth individuals and businesses, although he has not yet come up with a detailed plan for doing so.

Republicans are largely against tax increases. Senate Minority Chairman Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said there will be “no enthusiasm on our side for a tax hike” to fund infrastructure.

Talk of Biden’s next big boost to the economy comes just weeks after the president signed a $ 1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill that would fund vaccine distribution as well as pay incentives for most Americans included.

The coronavirus bill was passed without Republican support through a special congressional mechanism known as budget balancing. The nearly $ 2 trillion package was funded by federal loans.

The White House has not said whether it will use the reconciliation to pass laws related to its infrastructure agenda, although it is likely that separating the two parts of the plan is aimed at avoiding the streamlined process for at least one bill.

Republicans and Democrats have both been pushing for a bipartisan infrastructure deal for years.

“We’re not quite on the legislative strategy yet, Chris, but I’ll say I don’t think Republicans in this country think we should be 13th in the world in terms of infrastructure,” Psaki told host Chris Wallace.

“Roads, railways, reconstruction, this is not a partisan issue. The President will talk about that a lot this Wednesday,” she said.

Psaki did not say whether the plan would be limited to two acts or whether more discreet bills could be introduced.

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Categories
Health

How one can Rejoice the Spring Holidays Safely With Your Household

How to Celebrate the Spring Holidays Safely With Your Family

Suppose there are two healthy families of four. If the children are not vaccinated in any household but all the adults are vaccinated, you can consider inviting people out while the windows are open and everyone is wearing masks, said Dr. Asaf Bitton, a family doctor who runs a public health research laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. If the children were not vaccinated in any household and only a group of adults were vaccinated, he and other experts said meeting outdoors with masks and distancing would be safest.

You may also be wondering if your unvaccinated kids can finally get a hug and kiss from their healthy, vaccinated grandma. Experts differed on this issue. But in general, a hug or kiss is probably okay if everyone is healthy and you want to take some risk.

“The likelihood that my child will transmit a virus that will cause serious illnesses to my vaccinated parents is very, very small,” said Dr. Barocas.

It is also unlikely that a vaccinated adult will transmit the virus to a child. However, the experts advised doing what feels right for you and your family.

“I think anyone attending this visit needs to understand that we are balancing risks and benefits,” said Dr. Adam Ratner, director of the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at NYU Langone’s Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital. But, he added, when the grandparents are vaccinated, “I hug and kiss.”

Jennifer Rogers, 46, a Philadelphia lawyer, said her husband and two children, 8 and 11, will celebrate Easter by visiting their parents’ home for several hours. You are planning an outdoor Easter egg hunt and you hit a piñata shaped like a coronavirus. But the children to whom Mrs. Rogers’ sister and her sister’s son will come will all wear masks. Ms. Rogers and her husband are both vaccinated, but they plan to wear masks as well, as their family will recently have returned from a vacation in Florida.

“It still feels like a loss, like it’s not the same as it used to be,” said Ms. Rogers, whose family usually stays with their parents during the holidays.

Categories
Politics

Biden Inherits Household Separation Disaster From Trump

Biden Inherits Family Separation Crisis From Trump

“I can’t wait for the day I wake up from this nightmare,” said 34-year-old Xiomara, who spoke on condition that she could only be identified by her first name for security reasons.

One of her last acts of motherhood was bathing and dressing her daughter after she heard from border officials that Briselda, then 8, was being taken away. She said she watched helplessly as officers escorted Briselda to a number of children, most of whom were crying and waiting to get into a van that drove to the airport.

For her daughter’s safety, Xiomara said she preferred Briselda to stay in the United States with her family rather than return to her in El Salvador. They’re in regular contact on WhatsApp, she said, but the removal has taken an emotional toll, and Xiomara has battled depression and recently started seeing a therapist.

Others, despite their reunification, continue to suffer from the effects.

Fifteen days passed before Oscar, a Honduran immigrant imprisoned in McAllen, Texas, heard from his then eight-year-old son Daniel, from whom he had been separated.

“I felt angry. I went crazy, ”recalls Oscar, 35, who spoke on condition that he could only be identified by his middle name.

On one tearful phone call, his son announced that he was living in a Houston animal shelter. The father and son were reunited after 33 days by order of a judge and moved to Charlotte, NC

Since then, Oscar has grappled with how to help his son, whom he described as “not the same boy since we split up”. Daniel runs away when he sees someone in police uniform and wakes up at night screaming, Oscar said.

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Business

Level72 founder Steve Cohen leaves Twitter after household receives threats

Point72 founder Steve Cohen leaves Twitter after family receives threats

Steven A. Cohen

Scott Eells | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Steve Cohen, the founder of Point72 hedge fund and owner of the New York Mets, turned off his Twitter account after his family received threats in the GameStop trading frenzy this week.

“I really enjoyed the back and forth with Mets fans on Twitter, which was unfortunately overtaken this week by misinformation unrelated to the Mets that resulted in our family receiving personal threats,” Cohen said in a statement on Saturday.

“So I’m taking a break for the time being. We have other options to listen to your suggestions and keep advocating,” he said.

Cohen’s hedge fund, which manages nearly $ 19 billion in assets, lost nearly 15% this year after small investors drove shares of video game retailer GameStop, a source familiar with the matter told the New York Times.

The losses at Point72 are mainly due to the company’s investment in the hedge fund Melvin Capital, which bet against GameStop and had to receive emergency money of nearly $ 3 billion from two outside investors, including Point72.

Cohen, who bought the Mets for about $ 2.5 billion in November, was faced with questions on Twitter about how Melvin’s losses would affect the baseball team.

Cohen also had a back-and-forth with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy on Twitter Thursday after Portnoy accused Cohen of being involved in controversial trade restrictions in GameStop for apps like Robinhood.

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Business

Hershey sees enterprise alternative in household film nights, tight budgets

Hershey sees business opportunity in family movie nights, tight budgets

Hershey saw a strange pattern emerge in early spring. Sales of Hershey’s milk chocolate six-packs soared online and in stores well before Memorial Day, the typical prelude to summer camping trips and backyard gatherings.

The S’more season started early and lasted for months, said Kristen Riggs, chief growth officer, Thursday at a virtual conference hosted by the National Retail Federation.

“It’s been the biggest S’Mores season we’ve ever had,” she said.

Families made the goodies in the back yard to break up the monotony during the pandemic. In parts of the country with higher Covid-19 rates, Hershey saw sales of these milk chocolate packs increase by 40% to 50% compared to other regions.

The S’Mores surge is an example of the growth opportunity the snack and confectionery company sees as consumers spend more time at home trying to create occasion during the global health crisis. Riggs said it wants to participate in new traditions like family movie nights, suggest recipes of candy, and serve customers who want a tasty but affordable treat.

She said the company is moving faster to identify and respond to changes in consumer behavior. When it discovered the s’more trend, she said it had ramped up milk chocolate bar production and inventory in stores. Marketing has been adjusted to portray s’mores as the ideal treat for a more intimate gathering in the back yard rather than a large social event.

“By reading these consumer and retail signals quickly, we were able to seize the opportunity,” she said.

At the start of the pandemic, she said Hershey had been delivering boxes of all of its snacks to a focus group of customers. They were asked how they use the products when they spend more time at home – whether they are placed in candy bowls, added to a baking recipe, or used as a snack during the work day. These findings were used to inform the business strategy.

Hershey’s portfolio includes well-known confectionery brands, like Reese’s, Almond Joy, KitKat, Twizzlers and Bubble Yum as well as SkinnyPop and Pirate’s Booty. It’s one of the consumer goods companies that has noticed trends in staying at home. Net sales rose 4% in the third quarter of the fiscal year as customers indulged themselves with Halloween candy early. Sales of baked goods such as peanut butter, cocoa and French fries, as well as salty snacks, rose by double digits compared to the same period of the previous year.

However, the chocolate company has to adjust to new consumer behavior. Instead of rummaging the aisles of grocery stores, shoppers quickly get in and out of stores. They celebrate holidays differently, which could change the amount of candy they buy. And the rise of online grocery shopping could reduce the chances of a consumer discovering a new product, seeing a Christmas display, or tossing an impulse buy like a candy bar into their shopping cart.

Earlier this month, Bank of America upgraded Hershey’s stock to buy, raising its price target to $ 168, an increase of nearly 13% from its current trading price. The analysts said the company has strong momentum and could benefit from it in the coming months as the introduction of vaccines improves sales outside of home and in emerging markets.

The company’s shares are down nearly 3% over the past year. The market capitalization is $ 31 billion.

Riggs said in an interview that the company is getting smarter when it comes to online product placement. She said it could place an ad for chocolate syrup near the ice cream range on a retailer’s app or website – something that is harder to do in the grocery store. In the digital world, this could lead to shopping during the holiday season by placing ads for sweets or baked goods near goods such as Christmas decorations. It can enable a customer to purchase a collection of recipe ingredients with one click.

It also used to put Christmas candy on shelves and websites, which it does again for Valentine’s Day as people see the seasons as a distraction.

“There is something special about these seasonal traditions and occasions that makes the apartment feel better,” she said.

If Halloween and Christmas are a guide, expect plenty of candy bowls for Valentine’s Day and extended celebrations.

Categories
Politics

Video exhibits Trump household earlier than rally

Video shows Trump family before rally

A video, apparently recorded by Donald Trump Jr., shows his family and friends laughing and joking backstage before President Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Wednesday – not long before a crowd of the President’s supporters rolled into one Riot invaded the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead.

The video obtained from CNBC shows Donald Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, hoping Vice President Mike Pence “has the courage or the wits to do the right thing” and is blocking Congress’ endorsement of Joe Biden as president.

It also shows Eric Trump, Donald Jr.’s brother, being congratulated on his birthday on the same day.

The video is not currently showing on Donald Jr.’s Instagram page. CNBC has approached the Trump organization, which Donald Jr. runs with Eric Trump, and the White House for comment on the video.

“Guys, get ready to go out there,” said Donald Jr. in the video that appears to have been streamed online from his cell phone in a tent area during the rally outside the White House.

“I can’t believe the crowd I saw out there. Literally a hundred thousand people, it’s up to the Washington Monument.”

“Just great patriots, fed up with the cops -” says Donald Jr. when Laura Branigan’s song “Gloria” booms from the outside.

“So thank you all for that. It’s actually hard to believe.”

Donald Trump at the television party

In the background, President Trump can be seen on the video waiting to take the stage.

Later, during a speech lasting more than an hour, the president made false claims about alleged electoral fraud that had got him out of an election victory over Biden.

Trump had also asked the crowd to help him “fight” Biden’s confirmation of victory and march to Congress after the rally.

As the crowd did so, thousands of people swarmed around the Capitol complex and pushed past the Capitol Police Department to swarm through the convention halls. They occupied the Senate Chamber and the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, including the offices of the legislature.

One of the invaders, a woman, was shot dead by a Capitol police officer.

Another Capitol police officer died Thursday after being hit with a fire extinguisher by a rioter.

Three other people died in the hand-to-hand combat, which resulted in Trump being removed from office less than two weeks before his term ended. A number of Trump administration officials, including Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, resigned over the unrest.

DeVos accused Trump’s rhetoric of contributing to the violence.

Donald Jr. also spoke at the rally.

Donald Trump Jr. speaks during a rally of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump on the Ellipse in front of the White House on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

“To these Republicans, many of whom may be voting on things in the hours ahead, you have an opportunity today,” he warned.

“You can be a hero or you can be a zero. And the choice is yours. But we’re all watching. The whole world is watching, folks. Choose wisely.”

Before speaking, Donald Jr. pans the video in the backstage area where a woman who appears to be the White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany smiled as she snapped a picture of television monitors showing the crowd outside.

“Kimberly!” Don Jr. once said to Guilfoyle on the video seeing her dancing and flickering to the music.

“Have the courage to do the right thing! Fight!” Says Guilfoyle to the camera.

Kimberly Guilfoyle dances at the Trump Rally TV Party

“I think we’re here at T-minus for a few seconds, folks, so tune in and give it a try,” says Donald Jr.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows then appears behind him, grinning widely and pointing his thumb up at the camera.

“Mark Meadows, a real fighter, one of the few, a real fighter,” says Donald Jr., alluding to the fact that his father lost the support of many Republicans in Congress and his own Vice President Pence in his law-damned effort, To prevent Biden from taking office.

Donald Trump Jr and Mark Meadows at the Trump TV Party

“Thanks Mark!”

Donald Jr. then pans the camera to capture his sister Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser, who smiles and waves at him.

The camera then pans to her brother Eric.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump at the Trump Rally TV Party

“Happy Birthday Eric!” Donald Jr. says.

“Hey guys, wishes Eric a happy birthday. He’s an old, old, broken down man,” adds Donald Jr. in a joking voice as the brothers playfully wrestle with each other.

When Eric points to his own hair, his brother says “albino” and leads Eric’s wife Lara Trump to say “Stop” reproachfully.

“You see, his wife laughed at it like she laughed at him every night,” says Donald Jr. in the video.

Guilfoyle then said, referring to Lara, “future senator,” a reference to Lara who was researching whether to run for the Senate from her home state of North Carolina.

“Okay guys, we’re going to get the show on the streets. Time to get back to work,” says Donald Jr. at the end of the video.

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Health

How one can Take Your Household Geocaching

How to Take Your Family Geocaching

If it feels like you’ve already explored every corner of your cramped lockdown life, this is what you know: Right under your nose is a hidden world that is completely out of sight.

This world is geocaching, a touchless game of hide and seek between hundreds of thousands of strangers. Players hide caches – waterproof containers, usually small plastic boxes – in invisible places that others can discover using GPS technology.

How did this world stay completely hidden from you? The first rule in geocaching is that you try to keep your search a secret. When a runner runs by, players can pretend they’re deeply engrossed in plant identification. (If you are familiar with geocaching, you may find how many other people pretend to be intrigued by this ivy stain.)

Geocaching started in earnest in 2000 when the US military adjusted its GPS satellites to improve accuracy for recreational GPS users. An Oregon enthusiast hid the first cache, said Bryan Roth, president and co-founder of Geocaching HQ, which runs Geocaching.com. Since then, the community has grown steadily, and the pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in participation.

“At a time when people are looking for distraction, going outside works really well,” said Roth, who found that logins for the geocaching app are up 70 percent year over year.

First, download an app like Geocaching HQ on your phone (free download and some free caches, but the $ 30 annual membership unlocks more). Cachly ($ 4.99 and free caches, iPhone only); or c: geo (free download and free caches, only for Android). You can also geocache with a portable GPS device and use online databases like NaviCache.com to find cache coordinates.

Caches are rated 1 to 5 based on their difficulty. Beginners may want to start with a 1 and work from there. GPS will usually get you within 30 feet of the cache, and instructions like “look north at the street” can point you exactly where to look.

Then the real hunt begins.

If you find the cache – be it hidden under a tree, hidden in a pile of wood, or glued to the back of a sign – you can check it off in the app. Most caches have hidden a logbook Inside you can see everyone who was there before you, while others contain a piece of jewelry as a treasure. (If you put a few tiny items in your bag before you set off, you have the option to trade with the jewelry inside.)

A particularly nice benefit of geocaching is that it brings screen-dependent children outside. And while geocaching is outdoors, you don’t have to be outdoors.

When a friend suggested that Katie Sweeney and her husband try geocaching for the first time in 2007, she said, “I thought I didn’t really like hiking”. Ms. Sweeney, a Dutch copywriter, soon found many caches within a few blocks of her Philadelphia home. Today she takes her 6 year old daughter to the geocache on her way to or from the grocery store or other errands.

“We are always discovering new places near where we live,” said Ms. Sweeney, adding that children can really be beneficial. Their different perspectives often help them see things that adults may overlook.

Nick Geidner, a professor of journalism at the University of Tennessee, doesn’t mind if a hunt is broke.

“We don’t always find them,” he said. “But if we fail, we can come back and try again.” Henry, his 7 year old son, wasn’t quite so sure. When asked how he was feeling after recently giving up a hunt, he said, “I’m not angry, but I’m not happy.”

However, the thrill of finding a tricky or unique cache far outweighs the unhappy moments. In September, Ms. Sweeney and her daughter found a unique cache that had a playful opening with a maze, a magnetic ball and a secret code.

“It was that little joy,” Ms. Sweeney said, remembering opening the cache. “We’re all just looking for little moments of joy.”