Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday‚ ending his second stay since surgery to treat prostate cancer‚ and he has resumed his full duties‚ the Pentagon said. Austin‚ 70‚ has had ongoing health issues since undergoing surgery in December. He was taken back to Walter Reed on Sunday for a bladder issue and admitted to intensive care for a second time. He underwent a non-surgical procedure under general anesthesia on Monday....

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering loosening its recommendations regarding how long people should isolate after testing positive for the coronavirus‚ another reflection of changing attitudes and norms as the pandemic recedes. Under the proposed guidelines‚ Americans would no longer be advised to isolate for five days before returning to work or school. Instead‚ they might return to their routines if they have been fever free for at least 24 hours without medication...

A fast-moving winter storm hit the Northeast region Monday evening‚ affecting millions of residents with road and school closures. The storm is expected to push east out to sea later Tuesday. Travel has already been disrupted‚ with more than 1‚500 flights canceled and more than 10‚000 delayed as of noon ET‚ according to FlightAware. The National Weather Service predicts that heavy‚ wet snow coupled with strong winds of up to 40 mph will damage trees and power lines‚ and continue to...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had a phone call with Paul Whelan‚ a former American marine who is wrongly detained in Russia‚ according to the U.S. government.  Blinked said he spoke to Whelan on Monday.  “Yesterday‚ as it happens‚ I spoke on the phone with Paul Whelan‚” Blinken said during his remarks at the “Hostage Diplomacy as an International Security Threat” event at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in D.C on Tuesday.  The secretary...

Russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the West within the next decade and could be deterred by a counter build-up of armed forces‚ Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service said on Tuesday. A growing number of Western officials have warned of a military threat from Russia to countries along the eastern flank of NATO‚ calling for Europe to get prepared by rearming. The chief of the intelligence service said the assessment was based on Russian plans to double the number of...

President Joe Biden has blasted criticism of Nato by his likely 2024 election challenger‚ Donald Trump‚ as "dumb"‚ "shameful" and "un-American". The Democrat assailed Mr Trump for saying he would "encourage" Russia to attack any Nato member that did not meet its defence spending quota. Mr Biden said the remarks underscored the urgency of passing a $95bn (£75bn) foreign aid package for US allies. The bill just passed the Senate‚ but it faces political headwinds in the House. At the...

President Joe Biden’s son‚ Hunter Biden‚ allegedly took photographs with his phone of “apparent” cocaine‚ crack cocaine‚ and other drug paraphernalia‚ according to court documents filed by Biden’s Department of Justice. “During November and December 2018‚ the defendant took multiple photographs of videos apparent cocaine‚ crack cocaine‚ and drug paraphernalia‚” the DOJ said in a Tuesday court filing. Hunter Biden faces several felony gun charges stemming from allegations that he lied on a...

At what should have been the close of Joe Biden’s impromptu press conference last week‚ in which the president oddly sought to allay concerns about his advanced age by displaying all the traits classically associated with dotage‚ the president shuffled back to the lectern to allow himself one last dig at Israel. The Jewish state’s defensive war against Hamas in Gaza was “over the top‚” Biden said. “I’m pushing very hard now to deal with this hostage ceasefire‚” he continued‚ adding that he...

This post was written by Tim Urban and originally published on Wait But Why.I woke up this morning to a text. It was a link:"optimistic-people-have-one-thing-common-always-late.”Intriguing. Nothing's better than the headline: "The reason people are [bad quality that describes you] is actually because they're [good quality]."I got to reading. And as it turns out‚ according to the article‚ late people are actually the best people ever. They're optimistic and hopeful:"People who are continuously late are actually just more optimistic. They believe they can fit more tasks into a limited amount of time more than other people and thrive when they're multitasking. Simply put‚ they're fundamentally hopeful."They're big-thinking:"People who are habitually late don't sweat over the small stuff‚ they concentrate on the big picture and see the future as full of infinite possibilities."Late people just get it:"People with a tendency for tardiness like to stop and smell the roses…life was never meant to be planned down to the last detail. Remaining excessively attached to timetables signifies an inability to enjoy the moment."By the end of the article‚ I had never felt prouder to be a chronically late person.But also‚ what the hell is going on? Late people are the worst. It's the quality I like least in myself. And I'm not late because I like to smell the roses or because I can see the big picture or because the future is full of infinite possibilities. I'm late because I'm insane.So I thought about this for a minute‚ and I think I figured out what's going on. The issue is that there are two kinds of lateness:1. OK lateness. This is when the late person being late does not negatively impact anyone else — like being late to a group hangout or a party. Things can start on time and proceed as normal with or without the late person being there yet.2. Not-OK lateness. This is when the late person being late does negatively impact others — like being late to a two-person dinner or meeting or anything else that simply can't start until the late party arrives.John Haltiwanger's Elite Daily article is (I hope) talking mostly about OK lateness. In which case‚ sure‚ maybe those people are the best‚ who knows.But if you read the comment section under Haltiwanger's article‚ people are furious with him for portraying lateness in a positive light. And that's because they're thinking about the far less excusable not-OK lateness.1. OK lateness. This is when the late person being late does not negatively impact anyone else — like being late to a group hangout or a party. Things can start on time and proceed as normal with or without the late person being there yet.2. Not-OK lateness. This is when the late person being late does negatively impact others — like being late to a two-person dinner or meeting or anything else that simply can't start until the late party arrives.John Haltiwanger's Elite Daily article is (I hope) talking mostly about OK lateness. In which case‚ sure‚ maybe those people are the best‚ who knows.But if you read the comment section under Haltiwanger's article‚ people are furious with him for portraying lateness in a positive light. And that's because they're thinking about the far less excusable not-OK lateness.All of this has kind of left me with no choice but to take a quick nine-hour break from working on a gargantuan SpaceX post to discuss not-OK late people.When it comes to people who are chronically not-OK late‚ I think there are two subgroups:Group 1: Those who don't feel bad or wrong about it. These people are assholes.Group 2: Those who feel terrible and self-loathing about it. These people have problems.Group 1 is simple. They think they're a little more special than everyone else‚ like the zero-remorse narcissist at the top of Haltiwanger's article. They're unappealing. Not much else to discuss here.Punctual people think all not-OK late people are in Group 1 (as the comments on this post will show) — because they're assuming all late people are sane people.When a sane person thinks a certain kind of behavior is fine‚ they do it. When they think it's wrong‚ they don't do it. So to a punctual person — one who shows up on time because they believe showing up late is the wrong thing to do — someone who's chronically late must be an asshole who thinks being late is OK.But that's misunderstanding the entire second group‚ who‚ despite being consistently late‚ usually detest the concept of making other people wait. Let call them CLIPs (Chronically Late Insane Persons).While both groups of not-OK late people end up regularly frustrating others‚ a reliable way to identify a Group 2 CLIP is a bizarre compulsion to defeat themselves — some deep inner drive to inexplicably miss the beginning of movies‚ endure psychotic stress running to catch the train‚ crush their own reputation at work‚ etc.‚ etc. As much as they may hurt others‚ they usually hurt themselves even more.I spent around 15% of my youth standing on some sidewalk alone‚ angrily kicking rocks‚ because yet again‚ all the other kids had gotten picked up and I was still waiting for my mom. When she finally arrived‚ instead of being able to have a pleasant conversation with her‚ I'd get into the car seething. She always felt terrible. She has problems.My sister once missed an early morning flight‚ so they rescheduled her for the following morning. She managed to miss that one too‚ so they put her on a flight five hours later. Killing time during the long layover‚ she got distracted on a long phone call and missed that flight too. She has problems.I've been a CLIP my whole life. I've made a bunch of friends mad at me‚ I've embarrassed myself again and again in professional situations‚ and I've run a cumulative marathon through airport terminals.When I'm late‚ it's often the same story‚ something like this:I'll be meeting someone‚ maybe a professional contact‚ at‚ say‚ a coffee place at 3:00. When I lay out my schedule for the day‚ I'll have the perfect plan. I'll leave early‚ arrive early‚ and get there around 2:45. That takes all the stress out of the situation‚ and that's ideal because non-stressful commutes are one of my favorite things. It'll be great — I'll stroll out‚ put on a podcast‚ and head to the subway. Once I'm off the subway‚ with time to spare‚ I'll take a few minutes to peruse storefronts‚ grab a lemonade from a street vendor‚ and enjoy New York. It'll be such a joy to look up at the architecture‚ listen to the sounds‚ and feel the swell of people rushing by — oh magnificent city!All I have to do is be off the subway by 2:45. To do that‚ I need to be on the subway by 2:25‚ so I decide to be safe and get to the subway by 2:15. So I have to leave my apartment by 2:07 or earlier‚ and I'm set. What a plan.Here's how it'll play out (if you're new to WBW‚ you're advised to check this out before proceeding):CLIPs are strange people. I'm sure each CLIP is insane in their own special way‚ and to understand how they work‚ you'll usually have to get to some dark inner psychology.For me‚ it's some mix of these three odd traits:1. I'm late because I'm in denial about how time works.The propensity of CLIPs to underestimate how long things take comes out of some habitual delusional optimism. Usually what happens is‚ of all the times the CLIP has done a certain activity or commute‚ what they remember is that one time things went the quickest. And that amount of time is what sticks in their head as how long that thing takes. I don't think there's anything that will get me to internalize that packing for a weeklong trip takes 20 minutes. In my head‚ it's eternally a five-minute task. You just take out the bag‚ throw some clothes in it‚ throw your toiletries in‚ zip it up‚ and done. Five minutes. The empirical data that shows that there are actually a lot of little things to think about when you pack and that it takes 20 minutes every time is irrelevant. Packing is clearly a five-minute task. As I type this‚ that's what I believe.2. I'm late because I have a weird aversion to changing circumstances.Not sure what the deal is with this‚ but something in me is strangely appalled by the idea of transitioning from what I'm currently doing to doing something else. When I'm at home working‚ I hate when there's something on my schedule that I have to stop everything for to go outside and do. It's not that I hate the activity — once I'm there I'm often pleased to be there — it's an irrational resistance to the transition. The positive side of this is it usually means I'm highly present when I finally do haul my ass somewhere‚ and I'm often among the last to leave.3. Finally‚ I'm late because I'm mad at myself.There's a pretty strong correlation here — the worse I feel about my productivity so far that day‚ the more likely I am to be late. When I'm pleased with how I've lived the day so far‚ the Rational Decision-Maker has a much easier time taking control of the wheel. I feel like an adult‚ so it's easy to act like an adult. But times when the monkey had his way with me all day‚ when the time rolls around that I need to stop working and head out somewhere‚ I can't believe that this is all I've gotten done. So my brain throws a little tantrum‚ refusing to accept the regrettable circumstances‚ and stages a self-flagellating protest‚ saying‚ "NO. This cannot be the situation. Nope. You didn't do what you were supposed to do‚ and now you'll sit here and get more done‚ even if it makes you late.”So yeah‚ that's why I'm late. Because I have problems.Don't excuse the CLIPs in your life — it's not OK‚ and they need to fix it. But remember: It's not about you. They have problems.This article originally appeared on 04.07.16

A childhood game can go very wrong in the blink of an eye."You'll never get me!"“Freeze! Put your hands up."If you've ever played cops and robbers‚ you know how the game goes.John Arthur Greene was 8 and he was playing that game with his older brother Kevin. Only the two brothers played with real guns. Living on a farm‚ they were both old hands at handling firearms by their ages.The blast from the gun must have startled them both.“We were always extremely safe. They were never loaded‚" John said.Except this time it was. And John's brother died in his arms while he watched.It happens more often than you would ever want to imagine.In federal data from 2007 to 2011‚ which is likely under-reported‚ an average of 62 children were accidentally killed by firearms per year.Here's a chilling example from Everytown for Gun Safety:"In Asheboro‚ North Carolina‚ a 26-year-old mother was cleaning her home when she heard a gunshot. Rushing into the living room‚ she discovered that her three-year-old son had accidentally shot her boyfriend's three-year-old daughter with a .22-caliber rifle the parents had left in the room‚ loaded and unlocked."And the numbers may actually be getting worse.With an increase in unfettered access to guns and philosophical opposition to gun regulations‚ the numbers seem to be on the rise. Here's how many accidental shootings happened at the hands of children in 2015 alone‚ by age:From January 19-26 of 2016 — just one week — at least seven kids were accidentally shot by another kid.If the pace holds up for the rest of the year‚ America would be looking at over 300 accidental shootings of children‚ in many cases by children‚ for the year. That's far too many cases of children either carrying the guilt and pain of having shot a loved one or hurting or killing themselves by accident.John Arthur Greene has been able to manage his feelings of guilt and sorrow through music and by sharing his story for others to hear.He told his story during an audition for the final season of "American Idol." He says music has helped him keep his brother's memory alive:"Right now I lift him up every day and he holds me up. Music is how I coped with everything."It's a powerful reminder. No matter how we each feel about gun safety laws‚ guns should always be locked away unloaded and kept separately from ammunition.Our babies are too precious to leave it to chance.Watch John Arthur Greene's audition for "American Idol" here:This article originally appeared on 03.07.16