As the World Turns . Sure, there was a TV soap opera from 1956 to 2010 on CBS that had 54 seasons and 13,858 episodes. About a fictional town in Illinois on the tribulations of upper class families. Produced mostly female stars, like Meg Ryan, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei and Amanda Seyfried. Was not the longest running, for that title belongs to Guiding Light . In London, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer ( on the right ) is expected to resign tomorrow. Andy Burnham ( on the left) will probably be the next PM.  Who is he?  Another day. Brexit has seriously hurt the economy,   Hate crimes have increased in England and Wales. But London remains very safe for visitors.   Just use common street sense, as you should anywhere you go. About homicide, London is 3 times safer than New York City, 5 times better than Los Angeles and 15 times lower than Philadelphia and Chicago. About that Memorandum of Understanding discussion between Iran and the USA: Has n...

While on the one hand, Veep JD Vance cancelled his trip to Geneva to sign that Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, it so turns out that there now seems to be some kind of ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah .  So what?  Well, chances are that Vance will now go to Europe as soon as this weekend, and, over the next 60 days or so, maybe re-negotiate a larger peace with Iran.  Israel, however, is still not on the list to sign.  I thought they were a key player in all of this. If the last time you were in Japan, say 2013, the dollar-yen exchange rate was 100.  In other words, instead of paying $500, today the cost would only be $313.  Unfortunately, hotel rates have zoomed up by 40% during this period, so you really haven't gained all that much in value.  Yet, Google AI says: For Americans, hotel rates in Japan are generally cheaper in USD today than they were 13 years ago . While the underlying Japanese Yen (JPY) prices have surged due to mas...

The most vulnerable nominated Trump secretaries testified this week.   Kash Patel ( right ) for FBI director is the most likely to be confirmed, for he played the game.  Tossed in one anti-Trump position to show some minor independence ( didn’t think violent Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted law enforcement   deserved a break ) and soft-peddled his MAGA flamethrower persona. Tulsi Gabbard for national intelligence head could not say Edward Snowden was a traitor, and this could hurt her.  Plus, did not quite provide satisfactory answers to softball questions by Republicans.  But her reputation is not severely toxic like Pete Hegseth, and she was reasonably composed. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services, continued to show a controversial position on vaccination, has a general personality which is flawed ( he looks guilty all the time ) and confrontation with committee chairman Bill Cassidy (who is a physician) make RFK Jr. the most like...