Author: Jeric Macaraan

A middle seat has long been aviation’s least loved perch, wedged between elbows and armrests, but United Airlines is turning that discomfort into a business opportunity worth paying for. The airline said Tuesday that it will begin charging extra to keep that seat open on select rows of its new Airbus A321XLR jets, giving window and aisle passengers a shared tray table and a bit more room to stretch out during longer flights. The rows sit within the extra legroom section of the cabin, a space United has already spent years expanding as travelers show a growing willingness to pay…

Artificial intelligence has quietly become one of the most talked about tools for anyone chasing bigger income, and Claude sits near the top of that conversation. The chatbot from Anthropic has grown into a serious assistant for writing, research, coding and business planning, and a growing number of entrepreneurs credit tools like Claude with helping them build income streams faster than they could manage alone. The honest starting point is that this technology will not hand anyone a fortune. What Claude actually does is compress the time between an idea and a working product, which matters enormously for anyone trying…

A quiet Monday morning in Biddeford turned into the latest flashpoint in a spreading national reckoning over ICE and deadly force. Federal immigration agents shot and killed a man near the intersection of Pool and Hill streets shortly after 7 a.m., in a city of roughly 21,000 people about 18 miles south of Portland. Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, a Biddeford Democrat, confirmed the death and said ICE was involved, with state police and the Department of Public Safety already on scene. He expects the FBI to take the lead on the investigation. Both ICE and the Department of Homeland…

Christopher George Latore Wallace was born on May 21, 1972, in Brooklyn, New York, to Jamaican immigrant parents who raised him in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood that would later become the backdrop for some of the most vivid storytelling in hip-hop history. Today, Notorious B.I.G. would have turned 54 years old. Instead, the world marks the day the way it has every year since March 9, 1997 — with music, memory, and the lingering weight of what was taken too soon. Notorious B.I.G. and the Making of a Legend Wallace did not ease into greatness. He arrived fully formed. Signed to…

William Davis had just found his place. Then he was gone. The 22-year-old defensive back, who had transferred to Sam Houston State University earlier this year, died on May 16, 2026. SHSU confirmed his passing, though neither the university nor his family has released an official cause of death. Reports have circulated online, but none have been verified by any authoritative source. Davis had arrived at the Huntsville, Texas program in January 2026, drawn by a sense of cultural fit and community that he said mattered deeply — especially given how far he was from his roots in South Boston,…

Haitian culture, history and resistance took center stage in Chicago on one of the diaspora’s most meaningful days of the year. On May 18, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas hosted a reception for the diaspora following the public Flag Raising Ceremony at Daley Plaza. The celebration, marking Heritage Month and Flag Day, brought together public officials, civic leaders and residents in a unified display of cultural pride. More than 40,000 people from Haiti and its broader diaspora live in Chicago and the surrounding Cook County area, contributing to the region’s cultural, civic and professional landscape in ways that continue to…

Coco Gauff is through to the semifinals in Rome, but she had to earn every inch of it. The world No. 3 survived one of the tensest finishes of her season Tuesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, needing five match points to put away No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal that stretched well beyond the scoreline. It marks the fourth time she has reached the Rome semifinals and her third of 2026, following runs in Dubai and Miami. Up next for Gauff is Sorana Cirstea, the 36-year-old Romanian veteran who has announced 2026 as her…

Brandon Clarke, the Memphis Grizzlies forward who spent his entire seven-year NBA career with the franchise after a celebrated run at Gonzaga, died Tuesday. He was 29. The cause of death has not been officially confirmed, pending an autopsy, though the incident is under investigation as a possible drug overdose. Priority Sports, Clarke’s agency, confirmed the news in a social media post Tuesday morning, expressing grief shared by teammates, family, and the broader basketball community. The Grizzlies organization followed with their own statement, describing him as an outstanding teammate whose impact on the team and the Memphis community would not…

The stock market turned uneasy Tuesday after fresh inflation data and a sharp decline in semiconductor shares disrupted Wall Street’s recent momentum. The S&P 500 drifted lower throughout the trading session while the Nasdaq Composite suffered steeper losses as investors pulled back from major technology stocks. Investors closely watched the S&P 500 as volatility spread across major sectors. Much of the pressure followed the release of April’s Consumer Price Index report, which showed inflation remaining stronger than expected. The update complicated expectations surrounding future Federal Reserve rate cuts and quickly reignited concerns about borrowing costs staying elevated longer than investors…

The NBA draft lottery has come and gone, and the league is already buzzing. Front offices are burning up phone lines, agents are floating names, and fans are refreshing their feeds waiting for the next bombshell. What happens between now and draft night could redefine the trajectory of multiple franchises — and the rumors swirling right now are anything but quiet. At the center of it all is Washington. Wizards president Michael Winger has signaled that the organization is open to trading down from its current position, an interesting development given the team recently added two former All-Stars in Trae…