By DAVID MEDNICOFF <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-world-cup-puts-the-spotlight-on-qatar-but-also-brings-attention-to-its-human-rights-record-and-politics-4-things-to-know-194970">The Conversation</a>

With the start of the World Cup on Nov. 20, 2022, soccer teams <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Qatar">from 32 countries</a> and <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sport/football/world-cup-2022-fans/">tens of thousands of fans</a>
 have converged on Qatar, a tiny Arab country on a peninsula in the 
Persian Gulf. But search “Qatar 2022” online, and the first nonsport 
results are about <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/14/qatar-rights-abuses-stain-fifa-world-cup">the country’s human rights issues</a>.

Like its fellow oil-rich Arab countries, Qatar has enjoyed immense 
wealth that nurtured grand ambitions of economic growth among rulers and
 citizens alike. Qatar and its neighbors, including Bahrain and the 
United Arab Emirates, have brought <a href="https://www.ilo.org/beirut/areasofwork/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm">in millions</a> of workers from other countries to support their fast-growing cities and businesses over the <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/QAT/qatar/immigration-statistics">past few decades</a>.

In particular, about <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60867042">30,000 workers</a>
 came from Bangladesh, India and Nepal to construct the World Cup 
stadiums. At least 37 died, according to official Qatari counts, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/sports/soccer/world-cup-migrant-workers.html">while building</a> the US$220 billion infrastructure for the games.

I am <a href="https://www.umass.edu/jne/member/david-mednicoff">a political scientist and legal scholar of the Middle East</a> who has lived and <a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/middle-east-expert-mednicoff-named-lead-investigator-for-1-million-research-study?channel=">worked</a>
 in Qatar. Given the sudden media focus on the country, I think it 
helpful for both World Cup fans and people who don’t know a soccer ball 
from a hockey puck to understand four aspects of Qatar’s politics that 
relate to its human rights challenges.

A sparsely populated country in a desert, Qatar gained independence from Great Britain in 1971. With its large <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/gas/qatar-natural-gas/">oil and natural gas</a> reserves, Qatar has the <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=QA">highest income per citizen</a> in the world.

Qatar’s ruler is <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2019/01/tamim-the-glorious-portrait-goes-viral.html">popular</a> among <a href="https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/QAT">citizens</a>. <a href="https://www.diwan.gov.qa/hh-the-amir?sc_lang=en#data---">Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani</a>
 is part a family dynasty that has run the area’s politics since the 
1800s, even under Ottoman and British control. This makes Qatar one of 
eight Arab countries governed by hereditary kings.

Hereditary ruling monarchies <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315203195-10/contemporary-kingship-muslim-arab-societies-comparative-context-david-mednicoff">may seem archaic</a> to people living in societies with elected leaders. Yet these systems <a href="https://theconversation.com/middle-eastern-monarchies-how-do-arab-ruling-families-hold-on-to-power-159952">have held onto power, outlasting the Arab uprisings of 2011</a>. The lack of democracy in Arab countries is also part of a broader trend, as <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule">autocratic governments are generally on the rise globally</a>.

2. Yes – workers’ rights have been a problem 

Doha, the capital of Qatar, has become a major <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/">media</a>, <a href="https://www.qf.org.qa/education/education-city">educational</a>, <a href="https://raiagroup.org/qatars-tamim-is-leading-diplomacy-in-the-middle-east">diplomatic</a>
 and recreational hub over the past few decades. Its breakneck 
development also required workers from all over the world. As a result, 
foreign workers make up <a href="https://www.onlineqatar.com/visiting/tourist-information/qatar-population-and-expat-nationalities">about 85% of the country’s total population</a>, but they <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/qatar">do not have the same rights</a> as Qatari citizens. Qatari natives have been reluctant to share their <a href="https://qatarofw.com/qatar-social-security/">extraordinary social welfare benefits</a>,
 like free medical care, with millions of workers from abroad. This 
makes for a system that gives many more rights to Qatari nationals than 
the millions of others who live there.

Unusual, rapid growth like Qatar’s is a magnet for foreign contract 
workers worldwide. I enjoyed my opportunity to work there myself as a 
visiting professor and Fulbright scholar 15 years ago. Yet less 
privileged foreign workers can fare badly.

In Qatar and its oil-rich peers, control by a minority of citizens over millions of workers with fewer rights leads to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/15/migrant-workers-in-qatar-face-structural-racism-says-un-report">discrimination and abuse</a>. Human rights groups, journalists and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/migrant-workers-recount-abuse-while-building-stadiums-for-world-cup-in-qatar">migrant workers</a> themselves have <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/02/reality-check-migrant-workers-rights-with-two-years-to-qatar-2022-world-cup/">sought to change harmful workplace practices</a>, such as withholding wages and forbidding unions.

Qatar’s summer heat, <a href="https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/qatar/doha-climate">averaging 106 degrees Fahrenheit</a>
 (41 degrees Celsius), can make working conditions especially dangerous 
for outside construction workers. Since it is hard to know whether the 
alleged worker deaths are due specifically to bad working conditions, 
work-related issues, or something else, exact mortality numbers have <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-how-many-people-have-died-for-the-qatar-world-cup/a-63763713">been disputed and may be prone to exaggeration</a>. Yet no one doubts that <a href="https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/thousands-migrant-workers-died-qatars-extreme-heat-world-cup-forced-reckoning">conditions have been terrible</a> for many of Qatar’s most vulnerable workers.

Other rights issues in Qatar have also <a href="https://news.northeastern.edu/2022/11/19/world-cup-lgbtq-fans-athletes-safety/">attracted global attention</a>. The conservative form of Islam that is part of Qatar’s identity allows little tolerance for LGBTQ rights. <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/24/qatar-security-forces-arrest-abuse-lgbt-people">Human rights groups have documented</a> detentions and other routine discrimination against LGBTQ people.

While workers’ rights have received appropriate Western media attention, Qatar’s direct efforts to <a href="https://theathletic.com/3836101/2022/11/17/how-ngos-responded-to-world-cup/">respond to local and international activism</a> are less known. Qatar <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/24/qatar-significant-labor-and-kafala-reforms">enacted the most significant labor rights reforms in the Arab world</a> in 2021.

<a href="https://www.ilo.org/beirut/countries/qatar/WCMS_859880/lang--en/index.htm">Working with the International Labor Organization</a>,
 a United Nations agency that promotes fair and decent work worldwide, 
Qatar instituted a minimum wage of $275 per month, along with allowances
 for food and lodging. It also prohibited outdoor work during the peak 
of summer heat and eliminated many of the laws that gave employers 
control over their workers’ basic freedoms to leave their job or the 
country.

Because the reforms are recent, it is hard to know whether they represent <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/qatar">important steps forward</a> or <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/10/qatar-labour-reform-unfinished-and-compensation-still-owed-as-world-cup-looms/">incremental steps that will change little</a>.

In any case, legislation in and of itself cannot remedy a complicated
 challenge involving a wide range of companies and other organizations 
that Qatar’s government does not control. Whether Qatar can and will 
enforce the new regulations consistently is one concern. 

Most foreign migrants arrive in Qatar through foreign-based recruitment companies, which charge them to secure jobs. So even if <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/1/qatar-made-progress-in-labour-reforms-ilo">Qatar tries to curb labor abuses</a>, <a href="https://www.ilo.org/infostories/en-GB/Stories/Country-Focus/world-cup-qatar#domestic">recruitment companies</a>
 based in migrants’ countries of origin would still profit by charging 
workers expensive placement fees, for example. Such recruiters often 
work with <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/de/von-uns/briefings/wake-up-call-exploitative-recruitment-risk-to-migrant-workers-in-qatars-world-cup-hotels/">multinational companies within Qatar</a> to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelposner/2022/10/28/world-cup-abuses-led-qatar-to-change-labor-laws-but-more-protection-is-needed/?sh=6cb0b28c2062">blunt the force</a> of the kingdom’s recent reforms.

4. And Western critiques may conceal other agendas 

<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/15/qatari-minister-slams-western-media-coverage-of-world-cup-record">Qatari officials have suggested</a>
 that international attention to foreign workers’ conditions is part of a
 broader pattern of Westerners belittling Arabs and Muslims. <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/qatar-world-cup-team-depicted-terrorists-cartoon-sparks-outrage-1758928">One blatant example</a>
 is an October issue of the French right-wing satirical magazine “Le 
Canard enchaîné,” which depicted Qatari soccer players as terrorists.

Calls in some parts of Europe for <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/17/qatar-world-cup-broadcasting-boycotts-france">a widespread World Cup boycott</a> add fuel to this and <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/11/17/in-defence-of-qatars-hosting-of-the-world-cup">other arguments</a> that the European and American impression of Qatar is <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20221119-fifa-president-blasts-hypocrisy-of-western-critics-of-world-cup-host-qatar">hypocritical</a> and possibly <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221010-qatar-says-french-objections-to-fifa-world-cup-stem-from-islamophobia/">Islamophobic</a>.
 Though hardly a neutral observer, Gianni Infantino, the president of 
FIFA, which carries out the World Cup, reflected many Gulf Arabs’ views 
when he argued that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/19/fifa-chief-accuses-critics-of-qatar-of-hypocrisy-ahead-of-world-cup.html">Europe’s history of exploiting Middle Easterners and others</a> gives it little moral high ground on issues of non-Western rights.

Because no Middle Eastern or Muslim-majority country had hosted the World Cup before 2022, Qatar’s achievement is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/opinion/qatar-world-cup-arab-football.html">significant</a>. The Economist <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/11/17/in-defence-of-qatars-hosting-of-the-world-cup">argues that</a>
 Qatar’s responsiveness to pressures to improve its human rights climate
 may make it a more appropriate host for a global sporting event than 
other countries with poor human rights records, such as China or Russia.

Yet genuine global concern about rights in countries like Qatar and 
mistrust between the Middle East and the West will persist. Can new 
global awareness of Qatar lead to more nuanced understanding of both 
cross-cultural similarities and differences between Arab Islamic 
countries and the rest of the world? For the moment, this is as hard to 
know as which country will win the World Cup.

David Mednicoff, Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, and 
Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, UMass 
Amherst

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669227517151.jpeg" alt="Young girls and a woman watch a fireworks display as part of the World Cup soccer tournament FIFA fan festival in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)" />
 <figcaption>Young girls and a woman watch a fireworks display as part of the World Cup soccer tournament FIFA fan festival in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVID MEDNICOFF <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-world-cup-puts-the-spotlight-on-qatar-but-also-brings-attention-to-its-human-rights-record-and-politics-4-things-to-know-194970">The Conversation</a>With the start of the World Cup on Nov. 20, 2022, soccer teams <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Qatar">from 32 countries</a> and <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sport/football/world-cup-2022-fans/">tens of thousands of fans</a>
 have converged on Qatar, a tiny Arab country on a peninsula in the 
Persian Gulf. But search “Qatar 2022” online, and the first nonsport 
results are about <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/14/qatar-rights-abuses-stain-fifa-world-cup">the country’s human rights issues</a>.Like its fellow oil-rich Arab countries, Qatar has enjoyed immense 
wealth that nurtured grand ambitions of economic growth among rulers and
 citizens alike. Qatar and its neighbors, including Bahrain and the 
United Arab Emirates, have brought <a href="https://www.ilo.org/beirut/areasofwork/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm">in millions</a> of workers from other countries to support their fast-growing cities and businesses over the <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/QAT/qatar/immigration-statistics">past few decades</a>.In particular, about <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60867042">30,000 workers</a>
 came from Bangladesh, India and Nepal to construct the World Cup 
stadiums. At least 37 died, according to official Qatari counts, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/sports/soccer/world-cup-migrant-workers.html">while building</a> the US$220 billion infrastructure for the games. I am <a href="https://www.umass.edu/jne/member/david-mednicoff">a political scientist and legal scholar of the Middle East</a> who has lived and <a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/middle-east-expert-mednicoff-named-lead-investigator-for-1-million-research-study?channel=">worked</a>
 in Qatar. Given the sudden media focus on the country, I think it 
helpful for both World Cup fans and people who don’t know a soccer ball 
from a hockey puck to understand four aspects of Qatar’s politics that 
relate to its human rights challenges.<h2>1. Qatar is ruled by a popular king</h2>A sparsely populated country in a desert, Qatar gained independence from Great Britain in 1971. With its large <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/gas/qatar-natural-gas/">oil and natural gas</a> reserves, Qatar has the <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=QA">highest income per citizen</a> in the world. Qatar’s ruler is <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2019/01/tamim-the-glorious-portrait-goes-viral.html">popular</a> among <a href="https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/QAT">citizens</a>. <a href="https://www.diwan.gov.qa/hh-the-amir?sc_lang=en#data---">Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani</a>
 is part a family dynasty that has run the area’s politics since the 
1800s, even under Ottoman and British control. This makes Qatar one of 
eight Arab countries governed by hereditary kings.Hereditary ruling monarchies <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315203195-10/contemporary-kingship-muslim-arab-societies-comparative-context-david-mednicoff">may seem archaic</a> to people living in societies with elected leaders. Yet these systems <a href="https://theconversation.com/middle-eastern-monarchies-how-do-arab-ruling-families-hold-on-to-power-159952">have held onto power, outlasting the Arab uprisings of 2011</a>. The lack of democracy in Arab countries is also part of a broader trend, as <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule">autocratic governments are generally on the rise globally</a>. <h2>2. Yes – workers’ rights have been a problem </h2>Doha, the capital of Qatar, has become a major <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/">media</a>, <a href="https://www.qf.org.qa/education/education-city">educational</a>, <a href="https://raiagroup.org/qatars-tamim-is-leading-diplomacy-in-the-middle-east">diplomatic</a>
 and recreational hub over the past few decades. Its breakneck 
development also required workers from all over the world. As a result, 
foreign workers make up <a href="https://www.onlineqatar.com/visiting/tourist-information/qatar-population-and-expat-nationalities">about 85% of the country’s total population</a>, but they <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/qatar">do not have the same rights</a> as Qatari citizens. Qatari natives have been reluctant to share their <a href="https://qatarofw.com/qatar-social-security/">extraordinary social welfare benefits</a>,
 like free medical care, with millions of workers from abroad. This 
makes for a system that gives many more rights to Qatari nationals than 
the millions of others who live there.Unusual, rapid growth like Qatar’s is a magnet for foreign contract 
workers worldwide. I enjoyed my opportunity to work there myself as a 
visiting professor and Fulbright scholar 15 years ago. Yet less 
privileged foreign workers can fare badly.In Qatar and its oil-rich peers, control by a minority of citizens over millions of workers with fewer rights leads to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/15/migrant-workers-in-qatar-face-structural-racism-says-un-report">discrimination and abuse</a>. Human rights groups, journalists and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/migrant-workers-recount-abuse-while-building-stadiums-for-world-cup-in-qatar">migrant workers</a> themselves have <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/02/reality-check-migrant-workers-rights-with-two-years-to-qatar-2022-world-cup/">sought to change harmful workplace practices</a>, such as withholding wages and forbidding unions. Qatar’s summer heat, <a href="https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/qatar/doha-climate">averaging 106 degrees Fahrenheit</a>
 (41 degrees Celsius), can make working conditions especially dangerous 
for outside construction workers. Since it is hard to know whether the 
alleged worker deaths are due specifically to bad working conditions, 
work-related issues, or something else, exact mortality numbers have <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-how-many-people-have-died-for-the-qatar-world-cup/a-63763713">been disputed and may be prone to exaggeration</a>. Yet no one doubts that <a href="https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/thousands-migrant-workers-died-qatars-extreme-heat-world-cup-forced-reckoning">conditions have been terrible</a> for many of Qatar’s most vulnerable workers.Other rights issues in Qatar have also <a href="https://news.northeastern.edu/2022/11/19/world-cup-lgbtq-fans-athletes-safety/">attracted global attention</a>. The conservative form of Islam that is part of Qatar’s identity allows little tolerance for LGBTQ rights. <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/24/qatar-security-forces-arrest-abuse-lgbt-people">Human rights groups have documented</a> detentions and other routine discrimination against LGBTQ people.<h2>3. Yet Qatar has made major reforms</h2>While workers’ rights have received appropriate Western media attention, Qatar’s direct efforts to <a href="https://theathletic.com/3836101/2022/11/17/how-ngos-responded-to-world-cup/">respond to local and international activism</a> are less known. Qatar <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/24/qatar-significant-labor-and-kafala-reforms">enacted the most significant labor rights reforms in the Arab world</a> in 2021. <a href="https://www.ilo.org/beirut/countries/qatar/WCMS_859880/lang--en/index.htm">Working with the International Labor Organization</a>,
 a United Nations agency that promotes fair and decent work worldwide, 
Qatar instituted a minimum wage of $275 per month, along with allowances
 for food and lodging. It also prohibited outdoor work during the peak 
of summer heat and eliminated many of the laws that gave employers 
control over their workers’ basic freedoms to leave their job or the 
country.Because the reforms are recent, it is hard to know whether they represent <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/qatar">important steps forward</a> or <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/10/qatar-labour-reform-unfinished-and-compensation-still-owed-as-world-cup-looms/">incremental steps that will change little</a>. In any case, legislation in and of itself cannot remedy a complicated
 challenge involving a wide range of companies and other organizations 
that Qatar’s government does not control. Whether Qatar can and will 
enforce the new regulations consistently is one concern. Most foreign migrants arrive in Qatar through foreign-based recruitment companies, which charge them to secure jobs. So even if <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/1/qatar-made-progress-in-labour-reforms-ilo">Qatar tries to curb labor abuses</a>, <a href="https://www.ilo.org/infostories/en-GB/Stories/Country-Focus/world-cup-qatar#domestic">recruitment companies</a>
 based in migrants’ countries of origin would still profit by charging 
workers expensive placement fees, for example. Such recruiters often 
work with <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/de/von-uns/briefings/wake-up-call-exploitative-recruitment-risk-to-migrant-workers-in-qatars-world-cup-hotels/">multinational companies within Qatar</a> to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelposner/2022/10/28/world-cup-abuses-led-qatar-to-change-labor-laws-but-more-protection-is-needed/?sh=6cb0b28c2062">blunt the force</a> of the kingdom’s recent reforms. <h2>4. And Western critiques may conceal other agendas </h2><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/15/qatari-minister-slams-western-media-coverage-of-world-cup-record">Qatari officials have suggested</a>
 that international attention to foreign workers’ conditions is part of a
 broader pattern of Westerners belittling Arabs and Muslims. <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/qatar-world-cup-team-depicted-terrorists-cartoon-sparks-outrage-1758928">One blatant example</a>
 is an October issue of the French right-wing satirical magazine “Le 
Canard enchaîné,” which depicted Qatari soccer players as terrorists.Calls in some parts of Europe for <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/17/qatar-world-cup-broadcasting-boycotts-france">a widespread World Cup boycott</a> add fuel to this and <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/11/17/in-defence-of-qatars-hosting-of-the-world-cup">other arguments</a> that the European and American impression of Qatar is <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20221119-fifa-president-blasts-hypocrisy-of-western-critics-of-world-cup-host-qatar">hypocritical</a> and possibly <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221010-qatar-says-french-objections-to-fifa-world-cup-stem-from-islamophobia/">Islamophobic</a>.
 Though hardly a neutral observer, Gianni Infantino, the president of 
FIFA, which carries out the World Cup, reflected many Gulf Arabs’ views 
when he argued that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/19/fifa-chief-accuses-critics-of-qatar-of-hypocrisy-ahead-of-world-cup.html">Europe’s history of exploiting Middle Easterners and others</a> gives it little moral high ground on issues of non-Western rights. Because no Middle Eastern or Muslim-majority country had hosted the World Cup before 2022, Qatar’s achievement is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/opinion/qatar-world-cup-arab-football.html">significant</a>. The Economist <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/11/17/in-defence-of-qatars-hosting-of-the-world-cup">argues that</a>
 Qatar’s responsiveness to pressures to improve its human rights climate
 may make it a more appropriate host for a global sporting event than 
other countries with poor human rights records, such as China or Russia.
 Yet genuine global concern about rights in countries like Qatar and 
mistrust between the Middle East and the West will persist. Can new 
global awareness of Qatar lead to more nuanced understanding of both 
cross-cultural similarities and differences between Arab Islamic 
countries and the rest of the world? For the moment, this is as hard to 
know as which country will win the World Cup.David Mednicoff, Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, and 
Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, UMass 
Amherst<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194970/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

World Cup puts spotlight on Qatar — and its human rights record 

DUBAI,
 United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has arrested a prominent former member
 of its national soccer team over his criticism of the government as 
authorities grapple with nationwide protests that have cast a shadow 
over the team as it competes in the World Cup before a global audience.

The
 semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported Thursday that Voria
 Ghafouri was arrested for “insulting the national soccer team and 
propagandizing against the government."

Ghafouri, who was not 
chosen to go to the World Cup, has been an outspoken critic of Iranian 
authorities throughout his career, objecting to a longstanding ban on 
women spectators at men's soccer matches as well as Iran's 
confrontational foreign policy, which has led to crippling Western 
sanctions.

More recently, he expressed sympathy for the family of a
 22-year-old woman whose death while in the custody of Iran's morality 
police <a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-morality-police-explainer-b53475eda867a4158ac5032fe1b3e62e">ignited the latest protests</a>. In recent days he also called for an end to a violent crackdown on protests in Iran's western Kurdish region.

The
 reports of his arrest came ahead of Friday’s World Cup match between 
Iran and Wales. At Iran’s opening match, a 6-2 loss to England, the 
members of the Iranian national team declined to sing along to their 
national anthem and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-iran-world-cup-sports-4a00ac80c2527fa596943a9c0b62cb53">some fans protested</a>.

The
 protests were ignited by the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish 
woman arrested by the morality police in the capital, Tehran. They 
rapidly escalated into nationwide demonstrations calling for the 
overthrow of the Islamic Republic. The western Kurdish region of the 
country, where Amini was from, has seen particularly intense protests 
and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-middle-east-iraq-tehran-22db6336390c081f732512c097e90d6a">a deadly crackdown by security forces</a>.

Ghafouri,
 who is also a member of Iran's Kurdish minority, has criticized 
government policies in the past. Officials have not said whether that 
was a factor in not choosing him for the national team. He plays for the
 Khuzestan Foolad team in the southwestern city of Ahvaz.

The 
protests show no sign of waning, and mark one of the biggest challenges 
to Iran's ruling clerics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought 
them to power. Authorities have blamed the unrest on hostile foreign 
powers, without providing evidence.

The protesters say they are 
fed up after decades of social and political repression, including a 
strict dress code imposed on women.

DUBAI,
 United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has arrested a prominent former member
 of its national soccer team over his criticism of the government as 
authorities grapple with nationwide protests that have cast a shadow 
over the team as it competes in the World Cup before a global audience.The
 semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported Thursday that Voria
 Ghafouri was arrested for “insulting the national soccer team and 
propagandizing against the government."Ghafouri, who was not 
chosen to go to the World Cup, has been an outspoken critic of Iranian 
authorities throughout his career, objecting to a longstanding ban on 
women spectators at men's soccer matches as well as Iran's 
confrontational foreign policy, which has led to crippling Western 
sanctions.More recently, he expressed sympathy for the family of a
 22-year-old woman whose death while in the custody of Iran's morality 
police <a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-morality-police-explainer-b53475eda867a4158ac5032fe1b3e62e">ignited the latest protests</a>. In recent days he also called for an end to a violent crackdown on protests in Iran's western Kurdish region.The
 reports of his arrest came ahead of Friday’s World Cup match between 
Iran and Wales. At Iran’s opening match, a 6-2 loss to England, the 
members of the Iranian national team declined to sing along to their 
national anthem and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-iran-world-cup-sports-4a00ac80c2527fa596943a9c0b62cb53">some fans protested</a>.The
 protests were ignited by the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish 
woman arrested by the morality police in the capital, Tehran. They 
rapidly escalated into nationwide demonstrations calling for the 
overthrow of the Islamic Republic. The western Kurdish region of the 
country, where Amini was from, has seen particularly intense protests 
and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-middle-east-iraq-tehran-22db6336390c081f732512c097e90d6a">a deadly crackdown by security forces</a>.Ghafouri,
 who is also a member of Iran's Kurdish minority, has criticized 
government policies in the past. Officials have not said whether that 
was a factor in not choosing him for the national team. He plays for the
 Khuzestan Foolad team in the southwestern city of Ahvaz.The 
protests show no sign of waning, and mark one of the biggest challenges 
to Iran's ruling clerics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought 
them to power. Authorities have blamed the unrest on hostile foreign 
powers, without providing evidence.The protesters say they are 
fed up after decades of social and political repression, including a 
strict dress code imposed on women.

Iran arrests outspoken player amid World Cup scrutiny

<a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.

By TROY BICKHAM <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-turkey-the-main-dish-on-thanksgiving-193702">The Conversation</a>

Have you ever wondered why Thanksgiving revolves around turkey and not ham, chicken, venison, beef or corn?  

Almost <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2021/11/24/thanksgiving-food-debates-poll">9 in 10</a>
 Americans eat turkey during this festive meal, whether it’s roasted, 
deep-fried, grilled or cooked in any other way for the occasion.

You might believe it’s because of what the Pilgrims, a year after 
they landed in what’s now the state of Massachusetts, and their <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-wampanoag-side-of-the-first-thanksgiving-story">Indigenous Wampanoag guests</a> ate during their first thanksgiving feast in 1621. Or that it’s because <a href="https://www.almanac.com/wild-turkey-history-all-american-bird">turkey is originally from the Americas</a>.

But it has more to do with how Americans observed the holiday in the 
late 1800s than which poultry the Pilgrims ate while celebrating their 
bounty in 1621.

The <a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.mourtsrelationor00brad/?st=pdf&amp;pdfPage=189">only firsthand record</a>
 of what the Pilgrims ate at the first thanksgiving feast comes from 
Edward Winslow. He noted that the Wampanoag leader, Massasoit, arrived 
with 90 men, and the two communities feasted together for three days.

Winslow wrote little about the menu, aside from mentioning five deer 
that the Wampanoag brought and that the meal included “fowle,” which 
could have been any number of wild birds found in the area, including 
ducks, geese and turkeys.

Historians do know that important ingredients of today’s traditional dishes were not available during that first Thanksgiving.

That includes potatoes and green beans. The likely absence of wheat flour and the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/40532/50517_aer382a.pdf?v=0">scarcity of sugar</a> in New England at the time ruled out pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. <a href="https://aihd.ku.edu/foods/squash.html">Some sort of squash</a>, a staple of Native American diets, was almost certainly served, <a href="https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/arts-culture/2021-11-24/heres-what-was-served-at-the-real-first-thanksgiving">along with corn</a> and shellfish.

<a href="https://liberalarts.tamu.edu/history/profile/troy-bickham/">Historians like me</a>
 who have studied the history of food have found that most modern 
Thanksgiving traditions began in the mid-19th century, more than two 
centuries after the Pilgrims’ first harvest celebration.

The reinvention of the Pilgrims’ celebration as a national holiday was largely the work of <a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sarah-hale">Sarah Hale</a>.
 Born in New Hampshire in 1784, as a young widow she published poetry to
 earn a living. Most notably, she wrote the nursery rhyme “<a href="https://www.almanac.com/sarah-josepha-hale-godmother-thanksgiving">Mary Had a Little Lamb</a>.”

In 1837, Hale became the editor of the popular magazine <a href="https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=godeylady">Godey’s Lady’s Book</a>.
 Fiercely religious and family-focused, it crusaded for the creation of 
an annual national holiday of “Thanksgiving and Praise” commemorating 
the Pilgrims’ thanksgiving feast.

Hale and her colleagues leaned on 1621 lore for historical 
justification. Like many of her contemporaries, she assumed the Pilgrims
 ate turkey at their first feast because of the <a href="https://www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-turkeys">abundance of edible wild turkeys in New England</a>.

This campaign took decades, partly due to a lack of enthusiasm among white Southerners. Many of them considered <a href="https://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/nov02/thanks-early.html">an earlier celebration among Virginia colonists</a> in honor of supply ships that arrived at Jamestown in 1610 to be the more important precedent.

The <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/expulsion_cases/CivilWar_Expulsion.htm">absence of Southerners serving in Congress</a> during the Civil War enabled <a href="https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/lincoln-and-thanksgiving.htm">President Abraham Lincoln</a> to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.

Godey’s, along with other media, embraced the holiday, packing their 
pages with recipes from New England and menus that prominently featured 
turkey.

“We dare say most of the Thanksgiving will take the form of gastronomic pleasure,” <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/history-southern-thanksgiving">Georgia’s Augusta Chronicle</a> predicted in 1882. “Every person who can afford turkey or procure it will sacrifice the noble American fowl to-day.”

One reason for this: A roasted turkey makes a perfect celebratory centerpiece. 

A second one is that turkey is also practical for serving to a large 
crowd. Turkeys are bigger than other birds raised or hunted for their 
meat, and it’s <a href="https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/meat-and-animal-feed.html">cheaper to produce a turkey than a cow or pig</a>.
 
The bird’s attributes led Europeans to incorporate turkeys into their 
diets following their colonization of the Americas. In England, <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/the-history-of-turkeys/">King Henry VIII</a> regularly enjoyed turkey on Christmas day a century before the Pilgrims’ feast.

The bird cemented its position as the <a href="https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/christmas-parties/christmas-party-ideas/why-do-we-eat-turkey-at-christmas_10022">favored Christmas dish in England in the mid-19th century</a>.

One reason for this was that Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ “A 
Christmas Carol” sought redemption by replacing the impoverished 
Cratchit family’s meager goose with an enormous turkey. 

Published in 1843, Dickens’ instantly best-selling depiction of the prayerful family meal would soon <a href="https://www.biography.com/news/charles-dickens-a-christmas-carol">inspire Hale’s idealized Thanksgiving</a>.

Although the historical record is hazy, I do think it’s possible that
 the Pilgrims ate turkey in 1621. It certainly was served at 
celebrations in New England <a href="https://hilltownfamilies.org/2012/11/14/hf-613/?v=7516fd43adaa">throughout the colonial period</a>.

Troy Bickham is a Professor of History at Texas A&amp;M University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669043121500.jpeg" alt="Pixabay photo" />
 <figcaption>Pixabay photo</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.By TROY BICKHAM <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-turkey-the-main-dish-on-thanksgiving-193702">The Conversation</a>Have you ever wondered why Thanksgiving revolves around turkey and not ham, chicken, venison, beef or corn? Almost <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2021/11/24/thanksgiving-food-debates-poll">9 in 10</a>
 Americans eat turkey during this festive meal, whether it’s roasted, 
deep-fried, grilled or cooked in any other way for the occasion.You might believe it’s because of what the Pilgrims, a year after 
they landed in what’s now the state of Massachusetts, and their <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-wampanoag-side-of-the-first-thanksgiving-story">Indigenous Wampanoag guests</a> ate during their first thanksgiving feast in 1621. Or that it’s because <a href="https://www.almanac.com/wild-turkey-history-all-american-bird">turkey is originally from the Americas</a>. But it has more to do with how Americans observed the holiday in the 
late 1800s than which poultry the Pilgrims ate while celebrating their 
bounty in 1621.<h2>Did they or didn’t they eat it?</h2>The <a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.mourtsrelationor00brad/?st=pdf&amp;pdfPage=189">only firsthand record</a>
 of what the Pilgrims ate at the first thanksgiving feast comes from 
Edward Winslow. He noted that the Wampanoag leader, Massasoit, arrived 
with 90 men, and the two communities feasted together for three days. Winslow wrote little about the menu, aside from mentioning five deer 
that the Wampanoag brought and that the meal included “fowle,” which 
could have been any number of wild birds found in the area, including 
ducks, geese and turkeys.Historians do know that important ingredients of today’s traditional dishes were not available during that first Thanksgiving.That includes potatoes and green beans. The likely absence of wheat flour and the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/40532/50517_aer382a.pdf?v=0">scarcity of sugar</a> in New England at the time ruled out pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. <a href="https://aihd.ku.edu/foods/squash.html">Some sort of squash</a>, a staple of Native American diets, was almost certainly served, <a href="https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/arts-culture/2021-11-24/heres-what-was-served-at-the-real-first-thanksgiving">along with corn</a> and shellfish.<h2>A resurrected tradition</h2><a href="https://liberalarts.tamu.edu/history/profile/troy-bickham/">Historians like me</a>
 who have studied the history of food have found that most modern 
Thanksgiving traditions began in the mid-19th century, more than two 
centuries after the Pilgrims’ first harvest celebration.The reinvention of the Pilgrims’ celebration as a national holiday was largely the work of <a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sarah-hale">Sarah Hale</a>.
 Born in New Hampshire in 1784, as a young widow she published poetry to
 earn a living. Most notably, she wrote the nursery rhyme “<a href="https://www.almanac.com/sarah-josepha-hale-godmother-thanksgiving">Mary Had a Little Lamb</a>.”In 1837, Hale became the editor of the popular magazine <a href="https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=godeylady">Godey’s Lady’s Book</a>.
 Fiercely religious and family-focused, it crusaded for the creation of 
an annual national holiday of “Thanksgiving and Praise” commemorating 
the Pilgrims’ thanksgiving feast.Hale and her colleagues leaned on 1621 lore for historical 
justification. Like many of her contemporaries, she assumed the Pilgrims
 ate turkey at their first feast because of the <a href="https://www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-turkeys">abundance of edible wild turkeys in New England</a>. This campaign took decades, partly due to a lack of enthusiasm among white Southerners. Many of them considered <a href="https://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/nov02/thanks-early.html">an earlier celebration among Virginia colonists</a> in honor of supply ships that arrived at Jamestown in 1610 to be the more important precedent.The <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/expulsion_cases/CivilWar_Expulsion.htm">absence of Southerners serving in Congress</a> during the Civil War enabled <a href="https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/lincoln-and-thanksgiving.htm">President Abraham Lincoln</a> to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.<h2>Turkey marketing campaign</h2>Godey’s, along with other media, embraced the holiday, packing their 
pages with recipes from New England and menus that prominently featured 
turkey.“We dare say most of the Thanksgiving will take the form of gastronomic pleasure,” <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/history-southern-thanksgiving">Georgia’s Augusta Chronicle</a> predicted in 1882. “Every person who can afford turkey or procure it will sacrifice the noble American fowl to-day.” One reason for this: A roasted turkey makes a perfect celebratory centerpiece. A second one is that turkey is also practical for serving to a large 
crowd. Turkeys are bigger than other birds raised or hunted for their 
meat, and it’s <a href="https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/meat-and-animal-feed.html">cheaper to produce a turkey than a cow or pig</a>.
 
The bird’s attributes led Europeans to incorporate turkeys into their 
diets following their colonization of the Americas. In England, <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/the-history-of-turkeys/">King Henry VIII</a> regularly enjoyed turkey on Christmas day a century before the Pilgrims’ feast.<h2>Christmas connection</h2>The bird cemented its position as the <a href="https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/christmas-parties/christmas-party-ideas/why-do-we-eat-turkey-at-christmas_10022">favored Christmas dish in England in the mid-19th century</a>.One reason for this was that Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ “A 
Christmas Carol” sought redemption by replacing the impoverished 
Cratchit family’s meager goose with an enormous turkey. Published in 1843, Dickens’ instantly best-selling depiction of the prayerful family meal would soon <a href="https://www.biography.com/news/charles-dickens-a-christmas-carol">inspire Hale’s idealized Thanksgiving</a>. Although the historical record is hazy, I do think it’s possible that
 the Pilgrims ate turkey in 1621. It certainly was served at 
celebrations in New England <a href="https://hilltownfamilies.org/2012/11/14/hf-613/?v=7516fd43adaa">throughout the colonial period</a>.Troy Bickham is a Professor of History at Texas A&amp;M University.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193702/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

 Why is turkey the main dish on Thanksgiving?

WASHINGTON
 (AP) — Most Federal Reserve officials at their last meeting favored 
reducing the size of their interest rate hikes “soon’’— just before <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-jerome-powell-government-and-politics-875599570f2b3bfc132963010a404f09">raising their benchmark rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point</a> for a fourth straight time.

The
 central bank's policymakers saw “very few signs that inflation 
pressures were abating." Still, a “substantial majority" of the 
officials felt that smaller rate hikes “would likely soon be 
appropriate," according to <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomcminutes20221102.htm">the minutes of their Nov. 1-2 meeting</a> released Wednesday.

The
 Fed is widely expected to raise its key short-term rate, which affects 
many consumer and business loans, by a half-point when it next meets in 
mid-December.

“Slowing the pace would give the (Fed) the ability 
to assess the economic landscape and see where they’re at, ‘’ Jennifer 
Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research 
report. “Short of some wild inflation report before the next meeting, (a
 half percentage point hike) sounds very reasonable in December. But the
 Fed is clearly not finished yet.’'

Rising wages, the result of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-economy-prices-government-and-politics-42dbebe9d9e3f94a0f51e5b693931e16">a strong job market</a>,
 combined with weak productivity growth, were “inconsistent" with the 
Fed’s ability to meet its 2% target for annual inflation, the 
policymakers concluded, according to the minutes.

At that meeting,
 the Fed officials also expressed uncertainty about how long it might 
take for their rate hikes to slow the economy enough to tame inflation. 
Chair Jerome Powell stressed at a news conference after the meeting that
 the Fed wasn’t even close to declaring victory in its fight to curb 
high inflation.

Still, some of the policymakers expressed hope 
that falling commodity prices and the unsnarling of supply chain 
bottlenecks “should contribute to lower inflation in the medium term.’’ 
Indeed, the government reported earlier this month that price increases 
moderated in October in a sign that the inflation pressures might be 
starting to ease. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-united-states-economy-business-consumer-prices-039d829b874be6237041e5f0ab032ad1">Consumer inflation reached 7.7% from a year earlier</a>
 and 0.4% from September. The year-over-year increase, though painfully 
high by any standard, was the smallest rise since January.

Wednesday’s
 minutes revealed that Fed officials thought that ongoing rate increases
 would be “essential’’ to keep Americans from expecting inflation to 
continue indefinitely. When people expect further high inflation, they 
act in ways that can make those expectations self-fulfilling — by, for 
example, demanding higher wages and spending vigorously before prices 
can further accelerate.

The Fed officials noted that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-2a0f9402d03450bd97e4fdc310549afd">most employers were resisting layoffs</a> even as the economy slowed, apparently “keen″ to hold onto workers after a year and a half of severe labor shortages. The U.S. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-economy-prices-government-and-politics-42dbebe9d9e3f94a0f51e5b693931e16">unemployment rate is 3.7%</a>, just above a half-century low.

WASHINGTON
 (AP) — Most Federal Reserve officials at their last meeting favored 
reducing the size of their interest rate hikes “soon’’— just before <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-jerome-powell-government-and-politics-875599570f2b3bfc132963010a404f09">raising their benchmark rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point</a> for a fourth straight time.The
 central bank's policymakers saw “very few signs that inflation 
pressures were abating." Still, a “substantial majority" of the 
officials felt that smaller rate hikes “would likely soon be 
appropriate," according to <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomcminutes20221102.htm">the minutes of their Nov. 1-2 meeting</a> released Wednesday.The
 Fed is widely expected to raise its key short-term rate, which affects 
many consumer and business loans, by a half-point when it next meets in 
mid-December.“Slowing the pace would give the (Fed) the ability 
to assess the economic landscape and see where they’re at, ‘’ Jennifer 
Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research 
report. “Short of some wild inflation report before the next meeting, (a
 half percentage point hike) sounds very reasonable in December. But the
 Fed is clearly not finished yet.’'Rising wages, the result of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-economy-prices-government-and-politics-42dbebe9d9e3f94a0f51e5b693931e16">a strong job market</a>,
 combined with weak productivity growth, were “inconsistent" with the 
Fed’s ability to meet its 2% target for annual inflation, the 
policymakers concluded, according to the minutes.At that meeting,
 the Fed officials also expressed uncertainty about how long it might 
take for their rate hikes to slow the economy enough to tame inflation. 
Chair Jerome Powell stressed at a news conference after the meeting that
 the Fed wasn’t even close to declaring victory in its fight to curb 
high inflation.Still, some of the policymakers expressed hope 
that falling commodity prices and the unsnarling of supply chain 
bottlenecks “should contribute to lower inflation in the medium term.’’ 
Indeed, the government reported earlier this month that price increases 
moderated in October in a sign that the inflation pressures might be 
starting to ease. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-united-states-economy-business-consumer-prices-039d829b874be6237041e5f0ab032ad1">Consumer inflation reached 7.7% from a year earlier</a>
 and 0.4% from September. The year-over-year increase, though painfully 
high by any standard, was the smallest rise since January.Wednesday’s
 minutes revealed that Fed officials thought that ongoing rate increases
 would be “essential’’ to keep Americans from expecting inflation to 
continue indefinitely. When people expect further high inflation, they 
act in ways that can make those expectations self-fulfilling — by, for 
example, demanding higher wages and spending vigorously before prices 
can further accelerate.The Fed officials noted that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-2a0f9402d03450bd97e4fdc310549afd">most employers were resisting layoffs</a> even as the economy slowed, apparently “keen″ to hold onto workers after a year and a half of severe labor shortages. The U.S. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-economy-prices-government-and-politics-42dbebe9d9e3f94a0f51e5b693931e16">unemployment rate is 3.7%</a>, just above a half-century low.

Most Fed officials at last meeting backed slower rate hikes

ATLANTA
 (AP) — The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state’s 
ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, abruptly ending 
access to later abortions that had resumed days earlier.

In a 
one-page order, the justices put a lower court ruling overturning the 
ban on hold while they consider an appeal. Doctors who had resumed 
providing abortions after six weeks had to immediately stop.

Abortion
 advocates blasted the order, saying it will traumatize women who must 
now arrange travel to other states for an abortion or keep their 
pregnancies. Women waiting for an abortion at providers' offices were 
turned away, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia,
 which represents abortion providers challenging the ban.

“It is 
outrageous that this extreme law is back in effect, just days after 
being rightfully blocked,” said Alice Wang, an attorney with the Center 
for Reproductive Rights, which also represents plaintiffs in the case. 
“This legal ping pong is causing chaos for medical providers trying to 
do their jobs and for patients who are now left frantically searching 
for the abortion services they need.”

The state attorney general’s
 office in a court filing said “untold numbers of unborn children” would
 “suffer the permanent consequences” if the state Supreme Court did not 
issue a stay and halt the Nov. 15 decision by Fulton County Superior 
Court Judge Robert McBurney.

McBurney ruled <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-georgia-atlanta-282052ef34c1184e1bf651de98954043">the state’s abortion ban was invalid</a>
 because when it was signed into law in 2019, U.S. Supreme Court 
precedent that was established by Roe v. Wade and another ruling had 
allowed abortion well past six weeks.

The decision immediately 
prohibited enforcement of the abortion ban statewide. The state appealed
 and asked the Georgia Supreme Court to put the decision on hold while 
the appeal moved forward.

Although abortions past six weeks had resumed, some abortion providers said <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-georgia-atlanta-059c653451ec96c8698a434a3f249629">they were proceeding cautiously</a> over concerns the ban could be quickly reinstated.

Georgia’s
 ban first took effect in July, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 
Roe v. Wade. It prohibits most abortions once a “detectable human 
heartbeat” is present.

Cardiac activity can be detected by 
ultrasound in cells within an embryo that will eventually become the 
heart around six weeks into a pregnancy. That means most abortions in 
Georgia are effectively banned at a point before many people know they 
are pregnant.

The measure was passed by the state Legislature and 
signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019. In his ruling, 
McBurney said the timing — before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe 
v. Wade — made the law immediately invalid. Legislatures exceed their 
authority when they enact laws that violate a constitutional right 
declared by the judicial branch. To enact the law, the state Legislature
 would have to pass it again, he wrote.

The state attorney 
general's office in a filing with the Georgia Supreme Court blasted 
McBurney's reasoning as having “no basis in law, precedent, or common 
sense.”

Plaintiffs' attorneys defended it in a reply and warned of
 “irreparable harm” to women if it were put on hold. They also asked the
 high court for 24 hours notice before issuing any stay to “avoid the 
potential chaos” from resuming the ban while women waited for an 
abortion or were in the middle of getting one.

The state Supreme 
Court did not conduct a hearing before issuing its order, and 
plaintiffs' attorneys said it denied their request for 24 hours notice.

The
 high court's order said seven of the nine justices agreed with the 
decision. It said one was disqualified and another did not participate.

ATLANTA
 (AP) — The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state’s 
ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, abruptly ending 
access to later abortions that had resumed days earlier.In a 
one-page order, the justices put a lower court ruling overturning the 
ban on hold while they consider an appeal. Doctors who had resumed 
providing abortions after six weeks had to immediately stop.Abortion
 advocates blasted the order, saying it will traumatize women who must 
now arrange travel to other states for an abortion or keep their 
pregnancies. Women waiting for an abortion at providers' offices were 
turned away, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia,
 which represents abortion providers challenging the ban.“It is 
outrageous that this extreme law is back in effect, just days after 
being rightfully blocked,” said Alice Wang, an attorney with the Center 
for Reproductive Rights, which also represents plaintiffs in the case. 
“This legal ping pong is causing chaos for medical providers trying to 
do their jobs and for patients who are now left frantically searching 
for the abortion services they need.”The state attorney general’s
 office in a court filing said “untold numbers of unborn children” would
 “suffer the permanent consequences” if the state Supreme Court did not 
issue a stay and halt the Nov. 15 decision by Fulton County Superior 
Court Judge Robert McBurney.McBurney ruled <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-georgia-atlanta-282052ef34c1184e1bf651de98954043">the state’s abortion ban was invalid</a>
 because when it was signed into law in 2019, U.S. Supreme Court 
precedent that was established by Roe v. Wade and another ruling had 
allowed abortion well past six weeks.The decision immediately 
prohibited enforcement of the abortion ban statewide. The state appealed
 and asked the Georgia Supreme Court to put the decision on hold while 
the appeal moved forward.Although abortions past six weeks had resumed, some abortion providers said <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-georgia-atlanta-059c653451ec96c8698a434a3f249629">they were proceeding cautiously</a> over concerns the ban could be quickly reinstated.Georgia’s
 ban first took effect in July, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 
Roe v. Wade. It prohibits most abortions once a “detectable human 
heartbeat” is present.Cardiac activity can be detected by 
ultrasound in cells within an embryo that will eventually become the 
heart around six weeks into a pregnancy. That means most abortions in 
Georgia are effectively banned at a point before many people know they 
are pregnant.The measure was passed by the state Legislature and 
signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019. In his ruling, 
McBurney said the timing — before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe 
v. Wade — made the law immediately invalid. Legislatures exceed their 
authority when they enact laws that violate a constitutional right 
declared by the judicial branch. To enact the law, the state Legislature
 would have to pass it again, he wrote.The state attorney 
general's office in a filing with the Georgia Supreme Court blasted 
McBurney's reasoning as having “no basis in law, precedent, or common 
sense.”Plaintiffs' attorneys defended it in a reply and warned of
 “irreparable harm” to women if it were put on hold. They also asked the
 high court for 24 hours notice before issuing any stay to “avoid the 
potential chaos” from resuming the ban while women waited for an 
abortion or were in the middle of getting one.The state Supreme 
Court did not conduct a hearing before issuing its order, and 
plaintiffs' attorneys said it denied their request for 24 hours notice.The
 high court's order said seven of the nine justices agreed with the 
decision. It said one was disqualified and another did not participate.

Georgia high court reinstates ban on abortions after 6 weeks

Get Ready for what’s new for tax year 2022

WASHINGTON — The&nbsp;Internal Revenue Service today encouraged taxpayers 
to take simple steps before the end of the year to make filing their 
2022 federal tax return easier. With a little advance preparation, a 
preview of tax changes and convenient online tools, taxpayers can 
approach the upcoming tax season with confidence.

Filers can visit the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/steps-to-take-now-to-get-a-jump-on-next-years-taxes">Get Ready</a>
 webpage to find guidance on what’s new and what to consider when filing
 a 2022 tax return. They can also find helpful information on organizing
 tax records and a list of online tools and resources.

When filers have all their tax documentation gathered and organized, 
they’re in the best position to file an accurate return and avoid 
processing or refund delays or receiving IRS letters. Now’s a good time 
for taxpayers to consider financial transactions that occurred in 2022, 
if they’re taxable and how they should be reported.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to develop an electronic or paper 
recordkeeping system to store tax-related information in one place for 
easy access. Taxpayers should keep copies of filed tax returns and their
 supporting documents for at least three years.

Before January, taxpayers should confirm that their employer, bank 
and other payers have their current mailing address and email address to
 ensure they receive their year-end financial statements. Typically, 
year-end forms start arriving by mail or are available online in 
mid-to-late January. Taxpayers should carefully review each income 
statement for accuracy and contact the issuer to correct information 
that needs to be updated.

Get Ready for what’s new for Tax Year 2022

With the end of the year approaching, time is running out to take advantage of the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator">Tax Withholding Estimator</a>.
 This online tool is designed to help taxpayers determine the right 
amount of tax to have withheld from their paycheck. Some people may have
 life changes like getting married or divorced, welcoming a child or 
taking on a second job. Other taxpayers may need to consider estimated 
tax payments due to non-wage income from unemployment, self-employment, 
annuity income or even digital assets. The last quarterly payment for 
2022 is due on January 17, 2023. The Tax Withholding Estimator can help 
wage earners determine if there is a need to adjust their withholding, 
consider additional tax payments, or submit a new <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-4-p">W-4 form</a> to their employer to avoid an unexpected tax bill when they file.

As taxpayers gather tax records, they should remember that most 
income is taxable. This includes unemployment income, refund interest 
and income from the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/gig-economy-tax-center">gig economy</a> and <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/digital-assets">digital assets</a>.&nbsp;

Taxpayers should report the income they earned, including from 
part-time work, side jobs or the sale of goods. The American Rescue Plan
 Act of 2021 lowered the reporting threshold for third-party networks 
that process payments for those doing business. Prior to 2022, Form 
1099-K was issued for third-party payment network transactions only if 
the total number of transactions exceeded 200 for the year and the 
aggregate amount of these transactions exceeded $20,000. Now a single 
transaction exceeding $600 can trigger a 1099-K. The lower information 
reporting threshold and the summary of income on Form 1099-K enables 
taxpayers to more easily track the amounts received. Remember, money 
received through third-party payment applications from friends and 
relatives as personal gifts or reimbursements for personal expenses is 
not taxable. Those who receive a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k">1099-K</a> reflecting income they didn’t earn should call the issuer. The IRS cannot correct it.

Credit amounts also change each year like the&nbsp;Child Tax Credit (CTC),
 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)&nbsp;and Dependent Care Credit. Taxpayers 
can use the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita">Interactive Tax Assistant</a>
 on IRS.gov to determine their eligibility for tax credits. Some 
taxpayers may qualify this year for the expanded eligibility for the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-974">Premium Tax Credit</a>, while others may qualify for a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/plug-in-electric-vehicle-credit-irc-30-and-irc-30d">Clean Vehicle Credit</a> through the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/latest-news-on-the-inflation-reduction-act-of-2022">Inflation Reduction Act of 2022</a>.

Refunds may be smaller in 2023. Taxpayers will not receive an 
additional stimulus payment with a 2023 tax refund because there were no
 Economic Impact Payments for 2022. In addition, taxpayers who don’t 
itemize and take the standard deduction, won’t be able to deduct their 
charitable contributions.

The IRS cautions taxpayers not to rely on receiving a 2022 federal 
tax refund by a certain date, especially when making major purchases or 
paying bills. Some returns may require additional review and may take 
longer. For example, the IRS and its partners in the tax industry, 
continue to strengthen security reviews to protect against identity 
theft. Additionally, refunds for people claiming the Earned Income Tax 
Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) can’t be issued 
before mid-February. The law requires the IRS to hold the entire refund –
 not just the portion associated with EITC or ACTC. This law helps 
ensure taxpayers receive the refund they're due by giving the IRS time 
to detect and prevent fraud.

For taxpayers who are still waiting for confirmation that last year’s
 tax return processed, or for a tax year 2021 refund or stimulus payment
 to process, their patience is appreciated. As of November 11, 2022, the
 IRS had 3.7 million unprocessed individual returns received this year. 
These include tax year 2021 returns and late filed prior year returns. 
Of these, 1.7 million returns require error correction or other special 
handling, and 2 million are paper returns waiting to be reviewed and 
processed. They also had 900,000 unprocessed Forms 1040-X for amended 
tax returns. The IRS is processing these amended returns in the order 
received and the current timeframe can be more than 20 weeks. Taxpayers 
should continue to check&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/wheres-my-amended-return">Where's My Amended Return?</a>&nbsp;for the most up-to-date processing status available.

Taxpayers should ensure their <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/individual-taxpayer-identification-number">Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN)</a>&nbsp;hasn’t expired before filing a 2022 tax return. Those who need to file a tax return, should submit a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-7">Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number</a>&nbsp;now,
 to renew their ITIN. Taxpayers who fail to renew an ITIN before filing a
 tax return next year could face a delayed refund and may be ineligible 
for certain tax credits. Applying now will help avoid the rush as well 
as refund and processing delays in 2023.

Online tools are easy to use and available to taxpayers 24 hours a 
day. They provide key information about tax accounts and a convenient 
way to pay taxes. IRS.gov provides information in many languages and 
enhanced services for people with disabilities, including the 
Accessibility Helpline. Taxpayers who need accessibility assistance may 
call 833-690-0598. Taxpayers should use IRS.gov as their first and 
primary resource for accurate tax information.

Taxpayers should prepare to file electronically and choose <a href="https://www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts">Direct Deposit</a>
 for their tax refund – it’s the fastest and safest way to file and get a
 refund. Even when filing a paper return, choosing a direct deposit 
refund can save time. For those who do not have a bank account, the <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/about/initiatives/getbanked/index.html">FDIC website</a> offers information to help people open an account online.

Taxpayers can download <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5349.pdf">Publication 5349, Tax Preparation is for Everyone</a>PDF, for more information to help them get ready to file.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Get Ready for what’s new for tax year 2022</h2>IRSWASHINGTON — The&nbsp;Internal Revenue Service today encouraged taxpayers 
to take simple steps before the end of the year to make filing their 
2022 federal tax return easier. With a little advance preparation, a 
preview of tax changes and convenient online tools, taxpayers can 
approach the upcoming tax season with confidence.Filers can visit the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/steps-to-take-now-to-get-a-jump-on-next-years-taxes">Get Ready</a>
 webpage to find guidance on what’s new and what to consider when filing
 a 2022 tax return. They can also find helpful information on organizing
 tax records and a list of online tools and resources.<h2>Get Ready by gathering tax records</h2>When filers have all their tax documentation gathered and organized, 
they’re in the best position to file an accurate return and avoid 
processing or refund delays or receiving IRS letters. Now’s a good time 
for taxpayers to consider financial transactions that occurred in 2022, 
if they’re taxable and how they should be reported.The IRS encourages taxpayers to develop an electronic or paper 
recordkeeping system to store tax-related information in one place for 
easy access. Taxpayers should keep copies of filed tax returns and their
 supporting documents for at least three years.Before January, taxpayers should confirm that their employer, bank 
and other payers have their current mailing address and email address to
 ensure they receive their year-end financial statements. Typically, 
year-end forms start arriving by mail or are available online in 
mid-to-late January. Taxpayers should carefully review each income 
statement for accuracy and contact the issuer to correct information 
that needs to be updated.<h2>Get Ready for what’s new for Tax Year 2022</h2>With the end of the year approaching, time is running out to take advantage of the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator">Tax Withholding Estimator</a>.
 This online tool is designed to help taxpayers determine the right 
amount of tax to have withheld from their paycheck. Some people may have
 life changes like getting married or divorced, welcoming a child or 
taking on a second job. Other taxpayers may need to consider estimated 
tax payments due to non-wage income from unemployment, self-employment, 
annuity income or even digital assets. The last quarterly payment for 
2022 is due on January 17, 2023. The Tax Withholding Estimator can help 
wage earners determine if there is a need to adjust their withholding, 
consider additional tax payments, or submit a new <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-4-p">W-4 form</a> to their employer to avoid an unexpected tax bill when they file.As taxpayers gather tax records, they should remember that most 
income is taxable. This includes unemployment income, refund interest 
and income from the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/gig-economy-tax-center">gig economy</a> and <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/digital-assets">digital assets</a>.&nbsp;Taxpayers should report the income they earned, including from 
part-time work, side jobs or the sale of goods. The American Rescue Plan
 Act of 2021 lowered the reporting threshold for third-party networks 
that process payments for those doing business. Prior to 2022, Form 
1099-K was issued for third-party payment network transactions only if 
the total number of transactions exceeded 200 for the year and the 
aggregate amount of these transactions exceeded $20,000. Now a single 
transaction exceeding $600 can trigger a 1099-K. The lower information 
reporting threshold and the summary of income on Form 1099-K enables 
taxpayers to more easily track the amounts received. Remember, money 
received through third-party payment applications from friends and 
relatives as personal gifts or reimbursements for personal expenses is 
not taxable. Those who receive a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k">1099-K</a> reflecting income they didn’t earn should call the issuer. The IRS cannot correct it.Credit amounts also change each year like the&nbsp;Child Tax Credit (CTC),
 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)&nbsp;and Dependent Care Credit. Taxpayers 
can use the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita">Interactive Tax Assistant</a>
 on IRS.gov to determine their eligibility for tax credits. Some 
taxpayers may qualify this year for the expanded eligibility for the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-974">Premium Tax Credit</a>, while others may qualify for a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/plug-in-electric-vehicle-credit-irc-30-and-irc-30d">Clean Vehicle Credit</a> through the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/latest-news-on-the-inflation-reduction-act-of-2022">Inflation Reduction Act of 2022</a>.Refunds may be smaller in 2023. Taxpayers will not receive an 
additional stimulus payment with a 2023 tax refund because there were no
 Economic Impact Payments for 2022. In addition, taxpayers who don’t 
itemize and take the standard deduction, won’t be able to deduct their 
charitable contributions.The IRS cautions taxpayers not to rely on receiving a 2022 federal 
tax refund by a certain date, especially when making major purchases or 
paying bills. Some returns may require additional review and may take 
longer. For example, the IRS and its partners in the tax industry, 
continue to strengthen security reviews to protect against identity 
theft. Additionally, refunds for people claiming the Earned Income Tax 
Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) can’t be issued 
before mid-February. The law requires the IRS to hold the entire refund –
 not just the portion associated with EITC or ACTC. This law helps 
ensure taxpayers receive the refund they're due by giving the IRS time 
to detect and prevent fraud.For taxpayers who are still waiting for confirmation that last year’s
 tax return processed, or for a tax year 2021 refund or stimulus payment
 to process, their patience is appreciated. As of November 11, 2022, the
 IRS had 3.7 million unprocessed individual returns received this year. 
These include tax year 2021 returns and late filed prior year returns. 
Of these, 1.7 million returns require error correction or other special 
handling, and 2 million are paper returns waiting to be reviewed and 
processed. They also had 900,000 unprocessed Forms 1040-X for amended 
tax returns. The IRS is processing these amended returns in the order 
received and the current timeframe can be more than 20 weeks. Taxpayers 
should continue to check&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/wheres-my-amended-return">Where's My Amended Return?</a>&nbsp;for the most up-to-date processing status available.<h2>Renew expiring tax ID numbers</h2>Taxpayers should ensure their <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/individual-taxpayer-identification-number">Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN)</a>&nbsp;hasn’t expired before filing a 2022 tax return. Those who need to file a tax return, should submit a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-7">Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number</a>&nbsp;now,
 to renew their ITIN. Taxpayers who fail to renew an ITIN before filing a
 tax return next year could face a delayed refund and may be ineligible 
for certain tax credits. Applying now will help avoid the rush as well 
as refund and processing delays in 2023.<h2>Bookmark the following tools on IRS.gov</h2>Online tools are easy to use and available to taxpayers 24 hours a 
day. They provide key information about tax accounts and a convenient 
way to pay taxes. IRS.gov provides information in many languages and 
enhanced services for people with disabilities, including the 
Accessibility Helpline. Taxpayers who need accessibility assistance may 
call 833-690-0598. Taxpayers should use IRS.gov as their first and 
primary resource for accurate tax information.<ul>
 <li>Let Us Help You page. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/telephone-assistance">Let Us Help You</a> page on IRS.gov has links to information and resources on a wide range of topics.
	</li><li>Online Account. An <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account">IRS online account</a>
 lets taxpayers securely access their personal tax information, 
including tax return transcripts, payment history, certain notices, 
prior year adjusted gross income and power of attorney information. 
Filers can log in to verify if their name and address is correct. They 
should <a href="https://www.irs.gov/faqs/irs-procedures/address-changes">notify IRS if their address has changed</a>. They must notify the <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/">Social Security Administration</a> of a legal name change to avoid a delay in processing their tax return.
	</li><li>IRS Free File. Almost everyone can file electronically for free on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">IRS.gov/freefile</a> or with the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs2goapp">IRS2Go app</a>.
 The IRS Free File program, available only through IRS.gov, offers 
brand-name tax preparation software packages at no cost. The software 
does all the work of finding deductions, credits and exemptions for 
filers. It‘s free for those who qualify. Some Free File packages offer 
free state tax return preparation. Those who are comfortable preparing 
their own taxes can use <a href="https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms">Free File Fillable Forms</a>, regardless of their income, to file their tax return either online or by mail.
	</li><li>Find a tax professional. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/choosing-a-tax-professional">Choosing a Tax Professional</a> page on IRS.gov has a wealth of information to help filers choose a tax professional. In addition, the <a href="https://irs.treasury.gov/rpo/rpo.jsf">Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications</a>
 can help taxpayers find preparers in their area who hold professional 
credentials recognized by the IRS, or who hold an Annual Filing Season 
Program Record of Completion.
	</li><li>Interactive Tax Assistant. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita">Interactive Tax Assistant</a>
 is a tool that provides answers to many tax questions. It can determine
 if a type of income is taxable and eligibility to claim certain credits
 or deductions. It also provides answers for general questions, such as 
determining filing requirement, filing status or eligibility to claim a 
dependent.
	</li><li>Where's My Refund? Taxpayers can use the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/refunds">Where’s My Refund?</a>
 tool to check the status of their refund. Current year refund 
information is typically available online within 24 hours after the IRS 
receives an e-filed tax return. A paper return status can take up to 
four weeks to appear after it is mailed. The Where’s My Refund? tool 
updates once every 24 hours, usually overnight, so filers only need to 
check once a day.
	</li><li>Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers">Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE)</a> programs offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.
	</li>
 </ul><h2>Get refunds fast with Direct Deposit</h2>Taxpayers should prepare to file electronically and choose <a href="https://www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts">Direct Deposit</a>
 for their tax refund – it’s the fastest and safest way to file and get a
 refund. Even when filing a paper return, choosing a direct deposit 
refund can save time. For those who do not have a bank account, the <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/about/initiatives/getbanked/index.html">FDIC website</a> offers information to help people open an account online.Taxpayers can download <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5349.pdf">Publication 5349, Tax Preparation is for Everyone</a>PDF, for more information to help them get ready to file.

Get Ready: IRS offers tips, guidelines for filing 2022 returns

Highlights from the third day of the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a> in Qatar on Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666968926967.jpeg" alt="AP Photo/Darko Bandic" />
 <figcaption>AP Photo/Darko Bandic</figcaption>
 </figure>Highlights from the third day of the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a> in Qatar on Tuesday.

Highlights from Day 3 of the World Cup in Qatar 

PORTLAND,
 Ore. — Good news for fans of “The Goonies:” the old Victorian home
 featured in the film is on sale in Astoria, Oregon, and potential 
buyers are considering making it more accessible to the public.

“We
 have a few interested parties right now,” said realtor Jordan Miller, 
the listing agent for the property. “It seems to be everybody's 
intention to be able to open up the house a little bit more and have 
more access.”

The 1896 home with sweeping views of the Columbia 
River flowing into the Pacific Ocean has been listed with an asking 
price of $1.7 million on Zillow, where it's described as “fully loaded 
with history, nostalgia and iconic level of fame.”

Since the movie
 hit theaters in 1985, fans have flocked to the home in northwestern 
Oregon's historic port of Astoria. The city celebrates Goonies Day on 
June 7, the film's release date, and welcomes thousands of people for 
the event.

Owner Sandi Preston was known to have been largely 
welcoming to visitors. But she lived in the house full time, and the 
constant crowds were a strain that prompted her at times to close it to 
foot traffic.

After the film's 30th anniversary drew about 1,500 
daily visitors in 2015, Preston posted “no trespassing” signs 
prohibiting tourists from walking up to the property. She reopened it to
 the public this past August.

City officials, who restricted 
parking in the area, have long sought to mediate the tensions between 
residents and the fans hoping to see and photograph the location.

“While
 the owner of this location from The Goonies is a fan of the movie and 
enjoys chatting with visitors making the trek to Astoria to see the film
 locations, as you can imagine, it gets hard having hundreds of people 
crowding into your personal space every single day,” the 
Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce wrote in August on a Facebook page
 they administer called Goonies Day in Astoria, Oregon.

In the 
coming-of-age film, based on a story by Steven Spielberg and featuring a
 young Sean Astin, a group of friends fight to protect their homes from 
an expanding country club and threats of foreclosure. In the process, 
they discover an old treasure map that leads them on an adventure and 
allows them to save their “Goon Docks” neighborhood.

Astoria and 
its rugged coastline served as the backdrop for several well-known films
 from the 1980s and ’90s, including “Kindergarten Cop” starring Arnold 
Schwarzenegger.

For now, potential buyers of the iconic Goonies 
house don't seem to want to make the house their primary residence, said
 listing agent Miller, suggesting it has drawn interest from people who 
want to “make it their passion.”

“It’s kind of a fun buy,” Miller 
said. “Whoever buys the house is going to have a relatively steady 
stream of extremely happy people walking up outside to fulfill their 
childhood dreams.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669144243224.jpeg" alt="The house featured in the Steven Spielberg film "The Goonies" is seen in Astoria, Ore., on May 24, 2001. The Victorian home, built in 1896 with sweeping views of the Columbia River as it flows into the Pacific Ocean, is now for sale has been listed with an asking price of $1.7 million. Since the film was released in 1985, fans have flocked to the home, and the owner has long complained of constant crowds and trespassing. (AP Photo/Stepanie Firth, File)" />
 <figcaption>The house featured in the Steven Spielberg film "The Goonies" is seen in Astoria, Ore., on May 24, 2001. The Victorian home, built in 1896 with sweeping views of the Columbia River as it flows into the Pacific Ocean, is now for sale has been listed with an asking price of $1.7 million. Since the film was released in 1985, fans have flocked to the home, and the owner has long complained of constant crowds and trespassing. (AP Photo/Stepanie Firth, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>Associated PressPORTLAND,
 Ore. — Good news for fans of “The Goonies:” the old Victorian home
 featured in the film is on sale in Astoria, Oregon, and potential 
buyers are considering making it more accessible to the public.“We
 have a few interested parties right now,” said realtor Jordan Miller, 
the listing agent for the property. “It seems to be everybody's 
intention to be able to open up the house a little bit more and have 
more access.”The 1896 home with sweeping views of the Columbia 
River flowing into the Pacific Ocean has been listed with an asking 
price of $1.7 million on Zillow, where it's described as “fully loaded 
with history, nostalgia and iconic level of fame.”Since the movie
 hit theaters in 1985, fans have flocked to the home in northwestern 
Oregon's historic port of Astoria. The city celebrates Goonies Day on 
June 7, the film's release date, and welcomes thousands of people for 
the event.Owner Sandi Preston was known to have been largely 
welcoming to visitors. But she lived in the house full time, and the 
constant crowds were a strain that prompted her at times to close it to 
foot traffic.After the film's 30th anniversary drew about 1,500 
daily visitors in 2015, Preston posted “no trespassing” signs 
prohibiting tourists from walking up to the property. She reopened it to
 the public this past August.City officials, who restricted 
parking in the area, have long sought to mediate the tensions between 
residents and the fans hoping to see and photograph the location.“While
 the owner of this location from The Goonies is a fan of the movie and 
enjoys chatting with visitors making the trek to Astoria to see the film
 locations, as you can imagine, it gets hard having hundreds of people 
crowding into your personal space every single day,” the 
Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce wrote in August on a Facebook page
 they administer called Goonies Day in Astoria, Oregon.In the 
coming-of-age film, based on a story by Steven Spielberg and featuring a
 young Sean Astin, a group of friends fight to protect their homes from 
an expanding country club and threats of foreclosure. In the process, 
they discover an old treasure map that leads them on an adventure and 
allows them to save their “Goon Docks” neighborhood.Astoria and 
its rugged coastline served as the backdrop for several well-known films
 from the 1980s and ’90s, including “Kindergarten Cop” starring Arnold 
Schwarzenegger.For now, potential buyers of the iconic Goonies 
house don't seem to want to make the house their primary residence, said
 listing agent Miller, suggesting it has drawn interest from people who 
want to “make it their passion.”“It’s kind of a fun buy,” Miller 
said. “Whoever buys the house is going to have a relatively steady 
stream of extremely happy people walking up outside to fulfill their 
childhood dreams.”

Famed 'Goonies' house for sale in coastal Oregon

By WILLIAM CHITTENDEN <a href="https://theconversation.com/student-loan-cancellation-got-blocked-now-what-3-questions-answered-194973">The Conversation</a>

1. Why was Biden’s student loan cancellation program blocked?

It was found to be <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/10/federal-judge-in-texas-declares-bidens-student-debt-relief-plan-unlawful-.html">unconstitutional</a>.
 That determination was made on Nov. 10, 2022, by Judge Mark Pittman of 
the U.S. District Court of Northern Texas, who ruled that the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/house-bill/1412">Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003</a> – or Heroes Act – <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/11/14/biden-administration-appeals-debt-relief-ruling">“does not provide the executive branch clear congressional authorization”</a> for a student loan forgiveness program. He said further that the program was <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/bidens-student-debt-forgiveness-plan-012246385.html">“an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power and must be vacated.”</a>

The judge’s ruling prevents any student loans from being forgiven <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-was-student-loan-forgiveness-blocked-texas-judge-debt-relief-2022-11">“until a final verdict is made”</a> in the case. Technically it could go to the Supreme Court, but it may also be settled at the appellate court level.

In a separate case, on Nov. 14, a three-judge panel with the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-education-st-louis-student-loans-cf8136bfc75bd70839e9326cabbbf029">temporarily blocked the program</a> until the case is resolved in court. The 8th Circuit covers seven states, including Missouri, which is one of several <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-lawsuits-covid-missouri-862d783188de45b698c54b00820d3616">Republican-led states seeking to block the program</a>.

Both rulings effectively block Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans per borrower.

Both court decisions could be reversed. The Biden administration has argued that the <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10818">Heroes Act of 2003</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/politics/student-debt-relief-supreme-court">allows the Secretary of Education to forgive student loans</a> for those affected by the pandemic.

The Biden administration has already <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/where-does-the-biden-student-loan-forgiveness-program-stand-after-texas-judge-stepped-in-to-block-it-01668206695">filed a notice to appeal</a> the Nov. 10 ruling by Pittman.

On Nov, 18, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/justice-department-asks-supreme-court-lift-ruling-against-bidens-student-loan-2022-11-18/">asked the Supreme Court</a>
 to vacate the order by the Court of Appeals blocking student loan 
forgiveness. The Supreme Court has asked the plaintiffs in the case to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/politics/student-debt-relief-supreme-court">provide their response by Nov. 23, 2022</a>.

It is unclear how the full court might rule. However, in two previous instances, Justice Amy Coney Barrett has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/04/politics/scotus-biden-student-loans">shot down</a> attempts to block the student loan forgiveness plan.

3. What kind of relief can student loan borrowers get in the meantime?

Currently, student loan payments are paused but are scheduled to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/11/17/student-loan-forgiveness-isnt-dead-heres-narrow-path-forward/10712059002/">start again in January 2023</a>. The Biden administration could <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/16/biden-student-debt-forgiveness-blocked-whats-next-for-borrowers.html">extend the payment pause beyond December 2022</a>. However, in August 2022 – <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/25/student-loan-repayments-refunded-forgiven/7895863001/">when the most recent payment pause extension was announced</a> – the White House stated that it was supposed to be the <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-announces-final-student-loan-pause-extension-through-december-31-and-targeted-debt-cancellation-smooth-transition-repayment">final extension</a>.

Despite the setback for widespread student loan forgiveness, some 
borrowers may still qualify for one or more targeted student loan 
forgiveness programs. These groups include borrowers who <a href="https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/how-to-get-rid-of-student-loans">attended a school that shut down</a>. Student loans may also be forgiven for those who are <a href="https://disabilitydischarge.com/">totally and permanently disabled</a>. Students who were <a href="https://studentaid.gov/borrower-defense/">defrauded by their school</a> – such as by being misled about job placement rates for graduates or the true cost to attend the school – may also be eligible.

In November 2022, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-to-make-it-easier-to-dismiss-student-loans-in-bankruptcy-11668706819?mod=article_inline">released new rules to make it easier for student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy</a>.
 If a student loan borrower can prove their expenses are equal to or 
greater than their income, the student loan debt may qualify to be 
eliminated in bankruptcy.

William Chittenden is an Associate Professor of Finance at Texas State University.

By WILLIAM CHITTENDEN <a href="https://theconversation.com/student-loan-cancellation-got-blocked-now-what-3-questions-answered-194973">The Conversation</a><h2>1. Why was Biden’s student loan cancellation program blocked?</h2>It was found to be <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/10/federal-judge-in-texas-declares-bidens-student-debt-relief-plan-unlawful-.html">unconstitutional</a>.
 That determination was made on Nov. 10, 2022, by Judge Mark Pittman of 
the U.S. District Court of Northern Texas, who ruled that the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/house-bill/1412">Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003</a> – or Heroes Act – <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/11/14/biden-administration-appeals-debt-relief-ruling">“does not provide the executive branch clear congressional authorization”</a> for a student loan forgiveness program. He said further that the program was <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/bidens-student-debt-forgiveness-plan-012246385.html">“an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power and must be vacated.”</a>The judge’s ruling prevents any student loans from being forgiven <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-was-student-loan-forgiveness-blocked-texas-judge-debt-relief-2022-11">“until a final verdict is made”</a> in the case. Technically it could go to the Supreme Court, but it may also be settled at the appellate court level.In a separate case, on Nov. 14, a three-judge panel with the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-education-st-louis-student-loans-cf8136bfc75bd70839e9326cabbbf029">temporarily blocked the program</a> until the case is resolved in court. The 8th Circuit covers seven states, including Missouri, which is one of several <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-lawsuits-covid-missouri-862d783188de45b698c54b00820d3616">Republican-led states seeking to block the program</a>.Both rulings effectively block Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans per borrower.<h2>2. Can it be unblocked?</h2>Both court decisions could be reversed. The Biden administration has argued that the <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10818">Heroes Act of 2003</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/politics/student-debt-relief-supreme-court">allows the Secretary of Education to forgive student loans</a> for those affected by the pandemic.The Biden administration has already <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/where-does-the-biden-student-loan-forgiveness-program-stand-after-texas-judge-stepped-in-to-block-it-01668206695">filed a notice to appeal</a> the Nov. 10 ruling by Pittman.On Nov, 18, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/justice-department-asks-supreme-court-lift-ruling-against-bidens-student-loan-2022-11-18/">asked the Supreme Court</a>
 to vacate the order by the Court of Appeals blocking student loan 
forgiveness. The Supreme Court has asked the plaintiffs in the case to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/politics/student-debt-relief-supreme-court">provide their response by Nov. 23, 2022</a>.It is unclear how the full court might rule. However, in two previous instances, Justice Amy Coney Barrett has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/04/politics/scotus-biden-student-loans">shot down</a> attempts to block the student loan forgiveness plan.<h2>3. What kind of relief can student loan borrowers get in the meantime?</h2>Currently, student loan payments are paused but are scheduled to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/11/17/student-loan-forgiveness-isnt-dead-heres-narrow-path-forward/10712059002/">start again in January 2023</a>. The Biden administration could <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/16/biden-student-debt-forgiveness-blocked-whats-next-for-borrowers.html">extend the payment pause beyond December 2022</a>. However, in August 2022 – <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/25/student-loan-repayments-refunded-forgiven/7895863001/">when the most recent payment pause extension was announced</a> – the White House stated that it was supposed to be the <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-announces-final-student-loan-pause-extension-through-december-31-and-targeted-debt-cancellation-smooth-transition-repayment">final extension</a>.Despite the setback for widespread student loan forgiveness, some 
borrowers may still qualify for one or more targeted student loan 
forgiveness programs. These groups include borrowers who <a href="https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/how-to-get-rid-of-student-loans">attended a school that shut down</a>. Student loans may also be forgiven for those who are <a href="https://disabilitydischarge.com/">totally and permanently disabled</a>. Students who were <a href="https://studentaid.gov/borrower-defense/">defrauded by their school</a> – such as by being misled about job placement rates for graduates or the true cost to attend the school – may also be eligible.In November 2022, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-to-make-it-easier-to-dismiss-student-loans-in-bankruptcy-11668706819?mod=article_inline">released new rules to make it easier for student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy</a>.
 If a student loan borrower can prove their expenses are equal to or 
greater than their income, the student loan debt may qualify to be 
eliminated in bankruptcy.William Chittenden is an Associate Professor of Finance at Texas State University.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194973/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

Student loan cancellation got blocked. Now what? 

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA's threat of on-field punishment for players pushed <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup teams</a>
 to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear 
armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar's human rights 
record.

Just hours before the first players with the armbands in support of the “One Love” campaign <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-doha-5bd67341210b182fc0480acb56bbc4fa">were to take the field</a>,
 soccer's governing body warned they would immediately be shown yellow 
cards — two of which lead to a player’s expulsion from that game and 
also the next.

That changed the calculus for the seven European 
teams, which may have expected merely to be fined. The displays are a 
violation of FIFA rules.

No player had the “One Love” armbands 
Monday, although England's Harry Kane wore the FIFA-approved “No 
Discrimination” armband that was offered as a compromise in the match 
with Iran.

It was the latest dispute that threatened to overshadow
 play on the field. Since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 
2010, conservative Muslim Qatar <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-international-soccer-world-cup-migrant-workers-coronavirus-pandemic-5a3b0c7ccc5cd98535d0fb11224dbf2d">has faced a raft of criticism</a>,
 including its treatment of low-paid migrant workers and women and its 
suppression of free speech. It came under particular fire for its 
criminalization of homosexuality.

The decision came three days after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-middle-east-2ecb255aa0100664c250b56d69506b17">beer sales at stadiums were suddenly banned</a> under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-business-discrimination-ee9a8b506525341927b02c97cb19993d">delivered an extraordinary tirade</a> defending the host nation’s human rights record.

The
 captains of seven European nations had vowed to wear armbands carrying 
the heart-shaped, multicolored logo of the “One Love” campaign, which 
promotes inclusion and diversity in soccer and society. That set up the 
prospect of worldwide viewers seeing a symbol of disapproval with the 
host country and defiance of FIFA on the arms of Kane, the Netherlands’ 
Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale on Monday.

But in the end, the teams said they couldn’t sacrifice success on the field.

“As
 national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they
 could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,” the seven soccer 
federations said in a joint statement, referring to the yellow cards.

The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had also pledged to wear the armbands in the coming days.

“Our
 No. 1 priority at the World Cup is to win the games,” the Dutch soccer 
federation said in a separate statement. “Then you don’t want the 
captain to start the match with a yellow card.”

The risk of 
getting a second yellow, which would see a player sent off the field for
 the rest of the game and banned from the next, is particularly tricky 
in a tournament where teams play only three games before the knockout 
rounds begin.

“One thing is clear: We are not going to wear the 
armband if we are going to get a yellow card," said Netherlands coach 
Louis van Gaal. "And I think that we need to question whether this is a 
correct act on the part of FIFA. I think you can give the answer to that
 question.”

National soccer federations and fan associations 
lashed out at FIFA for its decision to penalize the players. Danish 
soccer federation CEO Jakob Jensen told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the 
organization was ”extremely disappointed with FIFA,” and German soccer 
federation president Bernd Neuendorf called it "another low blow."

“FIFA
 today prohibited a statement for diversity and human rights — those are
 values to which it is committed in its own statutes,” Neuendorf told 
reporters in Qatar. “From our point of view, this is more than 
frustrating and, I think, an unprecedented action in World Cup history.”

The global players’ union FIFPRO called the FIFA move “disappointing.”

“Players
 must have a right to express their support for human rights on and off 
the field of play and we will support any of them who will use their own
 platforms to do so,” the union said. “We maintain that a rainbow flag 
is not a political statement but an endorsement of equality and thus a 
universal human right.”

England’s Football Supporters Association said it felt betrayed by FIFA.

“Today
 we feel contempt for an organization that has shown its true values by 
giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance,” the 
FSA said.

The Belgium federation expressed frustration that FIFA 
didn't act sooner to resolve an issue that began two months ago, only to
 come to a head on the morning of matches for three teams. The Europeans
 “tried several times to avoid escalating this initiative ... but we 
have had no response,” the Belgian federation said.

Manon Aubry of
 France, the president of the Left group at the European Parliament, 
wore the rainbow armband Monday during a debate on human rights in the 
context of the World Cup.

“Shame on those who did not allow 
armbands — ‘One Love’ armbands — to support the LGBTQI. I’m proud to 
wear that armband here,” said Aubry, who was reprimanded for wearing it 
inside the Parliament, where such displays are not allowed during 
plenary sessions.

Gurchaten Sandhu, of the Geneva-based 
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 
said FIFA put “athletes in a very, very awkward” position.

“You’ve bound the hands of the national teams. They’re there to compete,” he said.

He
 also criticized Infantino's speech Saturday in which the soccer chief 
defended Qatar and lectured Europeans who have criticized the emirate's 
human rights record. In that speech, Infantino said: “Today I feel 
Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today
 I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker.”

Sandhu took issue with Infantino's choice of words, saying: “You don’t feel gay. You are gay.”

It
 wasn’t immediately clear what, if any, influence Qatar’s autocratic 
government had on the armband decision. The government and its Supreme 
Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which oversees the World Cup, did not
 immediately respond to a request for comment.

The European plans were in breach of World Cup regulations and FIFA’s general rules on team equipment at its games.

“For
 FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the 
captain’s armband provided by FIFA,” its equipment regulations state.

The
 soccer body's proposal, announced Saturday, was for captains to wear 
armbands with socially aware, though generic, slogans. In that offer, 
armbands reading “No Discrimination” — the only one of its chosen slogan
 aligned with the European teams’ wish — would appear only at the 
quarterfinal stage.

On Monday, it offered the compromise that 
captains of all 32 teams “will have the opportunity” to wear an armband 
with the slogan “No Discrimination” in the group games.

Brazil's 
players were not planning any type of protest but striker Richarlison 
said he would “support anything that other players or national teams 
were doing.”

“We live in a dangerous world where you are not 
allowed to have an opinion,” he said at Brazil’s training camp. “I 
support any cause out there.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669063264934.jpeg" alt="England's Harry Kane wears a rainbow armband as he takes the knee prior to the Euro 2020 soccer championship round of 16 match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in England. The captains of seven European nations will not wear anti-discrimination armbands in World Cup games after threats from FIFA to show yellow cards to the players. The seven soccer federations say "we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions.” (Justin Tallis, Pool Photo via AP)" />
 <figcaption>England's Harry Kane wears a rainbow armband as he takes the knee prior to the Euro 2020 soccer championship round of 16 match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in England. The captains of seven European nations will not wear anti-discrimination armbands in World Cup games after threats from FIFA to show yellow cards to the players. The seven soccer federations say "we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions.” (Justin Tallis, Pool Photo via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA's threat of on-field punishment for players pushed <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup teams</a>
 to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear 
armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar's human rights 
record.Just hours before the first players with the armbands in support of the “One Love” campaign <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-doha-5bd67341210b182fc0480acb56bbc4fa">were to take the field</a>,
 soccer's governing body warned they would immediately be shown yellow 
cards — two of which lead to a player’s expulsion from that game and 
also the next.That changed the calculus for the seven European 
teams, which may have expected merely to be fined. The displays are a 
violation of FIFA rules.No player had the “One Love” armbands 
Monday, although England's Harry Kane wore the FIFA-approved “No 
Discrimination” armband that was offered as a compromise in the match 
with Iran.It was the latest dispute that threatened to overshadow
 play on the field. Since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 
2010, conservative Muslim Qatar <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-international-soccer-world-cup-migrant-workers-coronavirus-pandemic-5a3b0c7ccc5cd98535d0fb11224dbf2d">has faced a raft of criticism</a>,
 including its treatment of low-paid migrant workers and women and its 
suppression of free speech. It came under particular fire for its 
criminalization of homosexuality.The decision came three days after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-middle-east-2ecb255aa0100664c250b56d69506b17">beer sales at stadiums were suddenly banned</a> under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-business-discrimination-ee9a8b506525341927b02c97cb19993d">delivered an extraordinary tirade</a> defending the host nation’s human rights record.The
 captains of seven European nations had vowed to wear armbands carrying 
the heart-shaped, multicolored logo of the “One Love” campaign, which 
promotes inclusion and diversity in soccer and society. That set up the 
prospect of worldwide viewers seeing a symbol of disapproval with the 
host country and defiance of FIFA on the arms of Kane, the Netherlands’ 
Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale on Monday.But in the end, the teams said they couldn’t sacrifice success on the field.“As
 national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they
 could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,” the seven soccer 
federations said in a joint statement, referring to the yellow cards.The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had also pledged to wear the armbands in the coming days.“Our
 No. 1 priority at the World Cup is to win the games,” the Dutch soccer 
federation said in a separate statement. “Then you don’t want the 
captain to start the match with a yellow card.”The risk of 
getting a second yellow, which would see a player sent off the field for
 the rest of the game and banned from the next, is particularly tricky 
in a tournament where teams play only three games before the knockout 
rounds begin.“One thing is clear: We are not going to wear the 
armband if we are going to get a yellow card," said Netherlands coach 
Louis van Gaal. "And I think that we need to question whether this is a 
correct act on the part of FIFA. I think you can give the answer to that
 question.”National soccer federations and fan associations 
lashed out at FIFA for its decision to penalize the players. Danish 
soccer federation CEO Jakob Jensen told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the 
organization was ”extremely disappointed with FIFA,” and German soccer 
federation president Bernd Neuendorf called it "another low blow."“FIFA
 today prohibited a statement for diversity and human rights — those are
 values to which it is committed in its own statutes,” Neuendorf told 
reporters in Qatar. “From our point of view, this is more than 
frustrating and, I think, an unprecedented action in World Cup history.”The global players’ union FIFPRO called the FIFA move “disappointing.”“Players
 must have a right to express their support for human rights on and off 
the field of play and we will support any of them who will use their own
 platforms to do so,” the union said. “We maintain that a rainbow flag 
is not a political statement but an endorsement of equality and thus a 
universal human right.”England’s Football Supporters Association said it felt betrayed by FIFA.“Today
 we feel contempt for an organization that has shown its true values by 
giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance,” the 
FSA said.The Belgium federation expressed frustration that FIFA 
didn't act sooner to resolve an issue that began two months ago, only to
 come to a head on the morning of matches for three teams. The Europeans
 “tried several times to avoid escalating this initiative ... but we 
have had no response,” the Belgian federation said.Manon Aubry of
 France, the president of the Left group at the European Parliament, 
wore the rainbow armband Monday during a debate on human rights in the 
context of the World Cup.“Shame on those who did not allow 
armbands — ‘One Love’ armbands — to support the LGBTQI. I’m proud to 
wear that armband here,” said Aubry, who was reprimanded for wearing it 
inside the Parliament, where such displays are not allowed during 
plenary sessions.Gurchaten Sandhu, of the Geneva-based 
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 
said FIFA put “athletes in a very, very awkward” position.“You’ve bound the hands of the national teams. They’re there to compete,” he said.He
 also criticized Infantino's speech Saturday in which the soccer chief 
defended Qatar and lectured Europeans who have criticized the emirate's 
human rights record. In that speech, Infantino said: “Today I feel 
Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today
 I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker.”Sandhu took issue with Infantino's choice of words, saying: “You don’t feel gay. You are gay.”It
 wasn’t immediately clear what, if any, influence Qatar’s autocratic 
government had on the armband decision. The government and its Supreme 
Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which oversees the World Cup, did not
 immediately respond to a request for comment.The European plans were in breach of World Cup regulations and FIFA’s general rules on team equipment at its games.“For
 FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the 
captain’s armband provided by FIFA,” its equipment regulations state.The
 soccer body's proposal, announced Saturday, was for captains to wear 
armbands with socially aware, though generic, slogans. In that offer, 
armbands reading “No Discrimination” — the only one of its chosen slogan
 aligned with the European teams’ wish — would appear only at the 
quarterfinal stage.On Monday, it offered the compromise that 
captains of all 32 teams “will have the opportunity” to wear an armband 
with the slogan “No Discrimination” in the group games.Brazil's 
players were not planning any type of protest but striker Richarlison 
said he would “support anything that other players or national teams 
were doing.”“We live in a dangerous world where you are not 
allowed to have an opinion,” he said at Brazil’s training camp. “I 
support any cause out there.”

FIFA threat makes World Cup teams nix 'One Love' armbands

Elon Musk’s Twitter has reinstated the personal account of far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, which was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-technology-health-business-media-0ebae275423fc33a707235c67a0e71b2">banned in January</a> for violating the platform’s COVID misinformation policies at the time.

Greene’s reinstatement comes after Musk over the weekend reinstated the account of former <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-biden-twitter-inc-technology-congress-d88e3de4b3cc095926dc133f53dc3320">President Donald Trump</a>,
 who was banned in the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6 riots on the 
Capitol in 2021. Twitter — at the time — feared there was a risk of 
further incitement to violence if Trump was allowed to remain on the 
platform. Trump himself has said he won't return to Twitter and as of 
Monday had not yet tweeted since the reinstatement, although he also 
hasn't deleted his account.

Musk apparently based his decision to 
allow Trump back on the site on an unscientific Twitter poll he posted 
on his timeline. There appeared to be no such poll for Greene's account.
 Earlier, Musk said he won’t make major decisions about content or 
restoring banned accounts before setting up a “ <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-social-media-e149b458b153f53268c00ad2a757cf14">content moderation council</a> ” with diverse viewpoints.

Musk
 has frequently expressed his belief that Twitter had become too 
restrictive. Before the U.S. midterm elections this month, he urged his 
“independent-minded” Twitter followers to vote Republican.

One account Musk has said he won't allow back on Twitter is that of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-north-america-ap-top-news-jack-dorsey-politics-2521ccbe3b5a43d68d66c21c030a7f2d">banned in 2018</a> for abusive behavior.

“My
 firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat,” Musk 
tweeted Sunday in response to calls for Jones' reinstatement. “I have no
 mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, 
politics or fame.”

Associated PressElon Musk’s Twitter has reinstated the personal account of far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, which was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-technology-health-business-media-0ebae275423fc33a707235c67a0e71b2">banned in January</a> for violating the platform’s COVID misinformation policies at the time.Greene’s reinstatement comes after Musk over the weekend reinstated the account of former <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-biden-twitter-inc-technology-congress-d88e3de4b3cc095926dc133f53dc3320">President Donald Trump</a>,
 who was banned in the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6 riots on the 
Capitol in 2021. Twitter — at the time — feared there was a risk of 
further incitement to violence if Trump was allowed to remain on the 
platform. Trump himself has said he won't return to Twitter and as of 
Monday had not yet tweeted since the reinstatement, although he also 
hasn't deleted his account.Musk apparently based his decision to 
allow Trump back on the site on an unscientific Twitter poll he posted 
on his timeline. There appeared to be no such poll for Greene's account.
 Earlier, Musk said he won’t make major decisions about content or 
restoring banned accounts before setting up a “ <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-social-media-e149b458b153f53268c00ad2a757cf14">content moderation council</a> ” with diverse viewpoints.Musk
 has frequently expressed his belief that Twitter had become too 
restrictive. Before the U.S. midterm elections this month, he urged his 
“independent-minded” Twitter followers to vote Republican.One account Musk has said he won't allow back on Twitter is that of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-north-america-ap-top-news-jack-dorsey-politics-2521ccbe3b5a43d68d66c21c030a7f2d">banned in 2018</a> for abusive behavior.“My
 firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat,” Musk 
tweeted Sunday in response to calls for Jones' reinstatement. “I have no
 mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, 
politics or fame.”

Elon Musk's Twitter reinstates Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

NEW YORK (AP) — Swifties, your girl has spoke on the Ticketmaster meltdown.

Taylor Swift posted a story Friday on Instagram expressing her anger and frustration over the hours spent by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-concert-tickets-parents-34399cca6403c97f0983a5c69c7edec0">fans trying to buy tickets</a> for her tour next year.

“I'm
 not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple 
times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they
 could,” she wrote. “It's truly amazing that 2.4 million people got 
tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they 
went through several bear attacks to get them.”

Of those who lost out, Swift said she hopes to “provide more opportunities for us to all get together and sing these songs.”

Fans
 trying to scoop up tickets Tuesday in a pre-sale for Swift's The Eras 
tour were met by massive delays and error messages that Ticketmaster 
blamed on bots and historically unprecedented demand. It was the most 
tickets sold on the platform in a single day, the company said in a 
statement. A <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-sale-canceled-music-concert-tour-70c8a21059174c37a06b7a8475239b06">general public sale</a> scheduled for Friday was canceled the day before.

Some fans wondered why Swift hadn't spoken out sooner.

On
 Instagram, the pop star didn't address timing but said she has trust 
issues when it comes to her fans' experience, trying to keep many 
elements of her career in house.

“It's really difficult for me to 
trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and 
excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse,” 
Swift said.

In addition to Tuesday's nightmare, Ticketmaster cited
 “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient 
remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand” as a reason for calling 
off Friday’s sale.

Fresh off one of the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-930a204fbbfccea45f6012f0da4feef6">biggest album launches of her career,</a>
 Swift announced earlier this month that she was going on a new U.S. 
stadium tour, with international dates to follow. Fans who received a 
special code after registering had exclusive access to buy tickets 
Tuesday. Those who didn't score tickets were placed on a waiting list.

The
 52-date Eras Tour kicks off March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, and wraps up
 with five shows in Los Angeles ending Aug. 9. It’s Swift’s first tour 
since 2018.

NEW YORK (AP) — Swifties, your girl has spoke on the Ticketmaster meltdown.Taylor Swift posted a story Friday on Instagram expressing her anger and frustration over the hours spent by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-concert-tickets-parents-34399cca6403c97f0983a5c69c7edec0">fans trying to buy tickets</a> for her tour next year.“I'm
 not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple 
times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they
 could,” she wrote. “It's truly amazing that 2.4 million people got 
tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they 
went through several bear attacks to get them.”Of those who lost out, Swift said she hopes to “provide more opportunities for us to all get together and sing these songs.”Fans
 trying to scoop up tickets Tuesday in a pre-sale for Swift's The Eras 
tour were met by massive delays and error messages that Ticketmaster 
blamed on bots and historically unprecedented demand. It was the most 
tickets sold on the platform in a single day, the company said in a 
statement. A <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-sale-canceled-music-concert-tour-70c8a21059174c37a06b7a8475239b06">general public sale</a> scheduled for Friday was canceled the day before.Some fans wondered why Swift hadn't spoken out sooner.On
 Instagram, the pop star didn't address timing but said she has trust 
issues when it comes to her fans' experience, trying to keep many 
elements of her career in house.“It's really difficult for me to 
trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and 
excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse,” 
Swift said.In addition to Tuesday's nightmare, Ticketmaster cited
 “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient 
remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand” as a reason for calling 
off Friday’s sale.Fresh off one of the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-930a204fbbfccea45f6012f0da4feef6">biggest album launches of her career,</a>
 Swift announced earlier this month that she was going on a new U.S. 
stadium tour, with international dates to follow. Fans who received a 
special code after registering had exclusive access to buy tickets 
Tuesday. Those who didn't score tickets were placed on a waiting list.The
 52-date Eras Tour kicks off March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, and wraps up
 with five shows in Los Angeles ending Aug. 9. It’s Swift’s first tour 
since 2018.

Misc