BANGKOK — Shares advanced Friday in Asia, tracking a rally on Wall Street after a group of big banks offered a lifeline to First Republic Bank, the lender investors had focused on in their latest hunt for troubles in the banking industry.
Benchmarks rose more than 1% in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tokyo. U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices climbed.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.8% Thursday, erasing earlier losses following reports that First Republic Bank could get help or sell itself to another bank. Markets have gyrated this week on concerns over the toll on banks from the fastest set of interest rate hikes in decades. The turmoil flared with last week’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the second largest bank failure in U.S. history.
“The market remains cautious; traders do not want to get overexcited, especially with investors still focusing on what can go wrong instead of what could go right,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.1% to 19,422.81 and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.8% to 3,249.23.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.2% to 27,333.79 and the Kospi in Seoul was up 0.7% at 2,394.27. Shares in major Japanese banks, which fell sharply at times this week, were mostly slightly higher.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 6,994.80. India’s Sensex was 0.1% higher while Taiwan’s Taiex surged 1.5%.
Stocks rallied Thursday on Wall Street after 11 of the biggest banks offered help for First Republic with a combined deposit of $30 billion.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 68.35 points to 3,960.28. The Dow gained 1.2% to 32,246.55 and the Nasdaq jumped 2.5% to 11,717.28.
Since SVB’s failure, investors have been on the lookout for banks with similar traits, such as lots of depositors with more than the $250,000 limit that’s insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or lots of tech startups and other highly connected people that can spread worries about a bank’s strength quickly.
First Republic Bank rose 10% Thursday after slumping as much as 36% early in the day.
The Federal Reserve’s fastest barrage of hikes to interest rates in decades, to drive down inflation, has shocked the banking system following years of historically easy conditions.
Higher rates raise the risk of a recession later on and hurt prices for stocks, bonds and other investments. That latter factor was one of the issues hurting Silicon Valley Bank because high rates forced down the value of its bond investments.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a Senate committee on Thursday that the nation’s banking system “remains sound” and Americans “can feel confident” about their deposits.
Wall Street increasingly expects this week’s turmoil to push the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates next week by only a quarter of a percentage point. That would be the same sized increase as last month’s, half the hike of 0.50 points that was earlier expected.
The European Central Bank on Thursday raised its key rate by half a percentage point, brushing aside speculation that it may reduce the size because of all the turmoil around banks.
All the stress in the banking system has raised worries about a potential recession because of how important smaller and mid-sized banks are to making loans to businesses across the country. Oil prices have slid this week on such fears.
Reports on the U.S. economy are showing mixed signals. A report said fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 44 cents to $68.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It picked up 74 cents on Thursday to $68.35 a barrel.
Brent crude, the pricing basis for international trading, climbed 46 cents to $75.16 a barrel.
The dollar fell to 132.93 Japanese yen from 133.76 yen. The euro rose to $1.0648 from $1.0611.
For outside observers, my autism diagnosis at age 27 appeared to have come out of the blue. Perhaps they understood me as anxious, awkward, blunt, weird, highly-strung, sensitive, rude, overwhelmed, exhausted, odd, erratic, intense, stuck up, or strange… but autistic? No, surely not.
I know plenty of autistic people can relate to this, the ‘you don’t look autistic’, and ‘you must be very high-functioning’ kind of comments that can come along with disclosure — particularly for anyone who does not fit the ‘young white male’ mould on which autism diagnostic criteria was built.
This is because culturally, the understanding of autism is still quite limited — partly because of the legacy of that mould, and also because of how autism is most often portrayed in media — all meltdowns and maths geniuses, and nothing in between.
People comprehend autism through the lens of a small number of behavioural characteristics — certain outward presentations that capture a fraction of what the experiences of being autistic might be like.
Autism is also very much still considered a childhood condition, as though we disappear when we turn 18, and so ‘you are not like this autistic child I know’ can be another common reaction. I don’t know many non-autistic adults who resemble non-autistic children in their behaviours, but that does not seem to be of consequence to sceptics.
For me, being autistic is a bit like this: my sensory experience of the world is dialled all the way up, which means there is a tsunami of information to be processed at any given moment, and my brain can have a hard time with that — especially with insufficient time to rest.
My nervous system is often activated in a heightened way, stuck in ‘fight or flight’ for extended periods of time. This is further heightened with extremes such as loud or layered noises, bright lights, intense heat and humidity, large groups of people (or anything more than a couple of people at a time), unexpected changes to routines and plans, emotional distress, and certain times in my menstrual cycle.
This prolonged stress manifests in many ways, from chronic tension pain such as tension migraines, jaw pain, back and shoulder pain — to anxiety, trichotillomania, digestion issues, experiences with disordered eating, insomnia, exhaustion, fatigue, emotional flooding, shutdowns, and meltdowns. I also have auditory processing challenges and executive functioning challenges which deeply impact my life.
I believe that there are also heaps of strengths I have because of how my brain works, however, my strengths were not what led to my seeking diagnosis. Therefore, I do not see my diagnosis as random — I see it as an inevitability.
My coping mechanisms and strategies worked (barely) until they didn’t, and I was in a privileged enough position to seek professional insight. It was a long and costly process, taking many months and costing more than $2,000, and it did not leave me with any further support.
The benefit, for me, was the self-understanding that came from learning this key piece of information about myself, and the ways in which I could change my life to accommodate my needs moving forward. It goes without saying that more structural support is needed for autistic adults (and children, and families).
Now, I follow this with the caveat that no autistic person owes anyone their diagnosis, their psychologist’s report, their list of traits, their life history, or their hardest moments. I share because I want to, because to actually grasp what it is to be autistic is not to look at the outward presentations and draw your own conclusions about how much support a person might need, or ‘how autistic’ you think they might be. It is to listen to autistic people, including those who are non-speaking, when they tell you their experiences of moving through the world.
The more people you learn from, the deeper your understanding grows–layer upon layer upon layer. You will be a better friend, family member, co-worker, and ally.
There are, of course, autistic people with higher support needs than me. But having worked in classrooms, respite homes, and support services with young people with high support needs — and now as a parent and carer to an autistic child — I do not see this as an ‘us vs them’ situation. A broader understanding of autism benefits us all.
It also needs to be understood that the sobering statistics we see around autistic people — that 70 percent experience mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, that autistic people are three times more likely to experience suicidality, that autistic people experience eating disorders at much higher rates, as well as sexual assault. These also apply to autistic people who have families or friends or jobs or TikTok accounts or whatever erroneous metric people might point to as proof that someone could not really be autistic. And that lack of understanding is not on autistic people — it is not our deficit to remedy.
For those wanting to support autistic people in their lives and communities, my advice is this:
Research shows that protective factors for autistic people, so, things that will help or minimise the risks of outcomes such as poor mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviours, are social supports. That is — feeling understood, accepted, cared for, loved, and being a member of a larger social network. So, this Autism Acceptance Month, listen to autistic people. True inclusion starts there.
Kay Kerr is an autistic author and freelance writer. Her book Love & Autism is out now.
While we don’t deny that fancy dates, an elaborate dinner setting, surprise getaways or even taking her out for a drive are things that will indeed make your girlfriend incredibly happy, there are other things you can do to win her heart. Your grand display of romance aside, if you really want to show her how much you love her, consider some sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry in happiness.
Love is not just professed through gifts or romantic gestures. Sometimes, love can simply be professed in thoughts. But we know you’re not Keats or Byron so it may not always seem as simple to articulate your feelings in an eloquent yet heartfelt way. That’s where we come in with these romantic things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry. Read more to find out how.
101 Sweet Things To Say To Your Girlfriend To Make Her Cry
Long paragraphs to make your girlfriend cry or a mere four-word phrase complemented by a carefully selected emoji, there’s no need to discriminate. As long as it’s creative and you put your back into it, the length does not matter. What matters is that you are able to convey the depth of your feelings and your true love for her in a way that is more striking than anything she’s ever heard before!
You can either make her day over text or write her a note or even a love letter, if you want to go the old school way. If none of these appeals to you, then saying sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her feel special while looking into her eyes in an intimate setting can also do the trick. To make this a tad easier for you, we have a list of 101 sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry in sheer joy:
1. You give me a reason to wake up in the morning
How sweet is it to tell her that you look forward to her the moment you wake up in the morning? That your day begins with her on your mind? To make her smile profusely, you will not go wrong with this one. Text her this one right away!
2. Your voice reminds me that there’s joy in the world
How cute is it if you tell her that just her voice is enough for you to have faith in the world? The world is a better place for you when she’s around and this is the sweetest way to tell her so.
3. I was always looking for happiness and I have found it in us
Show her how much you treasure your relationship with her by using this line. If you’re considering sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her blush, we strongly recommend this one.
4. Stop the world from spinning because I want to get off with you
Stolen from an Arctic Monkeys song, yes, I don’t think Alex Turner would mind if you rolled this your girlfriend’s way. If she’s a music enthusiast, then even more brownie points for you.
5. Your beautiful laugh can light up the whole room
Show her that you adore her happiness. That she is so charming, that she radiates joy in every room that she walks into. You’re absolutely smitten by her and there is no better way of cheering up your girlfriend.
6. I fall in love with you more and more each time we meet
To make her smile non-stop, a simple notification of this on her phone will do the trick no matter how bad of a day she might be having. If she’s having a long day or going through something tough, with this one you can remind her that she always has you by her side.
7. You’re a magnet that my heart cannot resist
If you’re thinking of ideas when writing her an emotional love letter to girlfriend to make her cry, punctuate the end of your letter with this line. A true show-stopper, this line is equal parts poetic and heartfelt.
8. I may not be your first, but I want to be your last
Once you say this to her, she can safely assume you’re not a commitment-phobe who will one day give up on her. To tell her that she can blindly trust you, say this line to her. And she will know you’re willing to put both feet into the relationship. This line could easily lend itself to heart-touching love letters to make her cry.
9. You have shaken my world
Maybe not a literal earthquake but your heart went through a metaphorical earthquake the day she entered your life. That’s when you knew that she was going to be the one for you. Remind her that you still think of her that way by popping this sentence in one of your conversations.
10. You are the most special snowflake I have ever encountered
Remind her how special she is and how much she means to you with this line. A lot of women might have come and gone into your life, but by saying this, you are showing your girlfriend that you are the most grateful for her.
To really seal the deal, drop a peck or go for an intense, passionate kiss once you say this to her. Whichever types of kisses you try, you will leave her spellbound after you say this to her. Isn’t this one of the most romantic things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry?
12. I can’t think of anything I don’t like about you
(And I don’t want to). When you say this to her while looking into her eyes, we can’t guarantee that she will stop blushing. Want to win her heart? Try saying these words to her.
13. I look forward to notifications with your name on them
When you want to try out sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry, you could potentially leave her in a big pool of tears when you say this to her. Tell her that you wait for her notification or text on your phone and it lights up your whole day.
14. I feel safe with you
Feeling loved and happy with someone is one thing, but if someone makes you feel safe, that is another ballpark. The fact that you feel safe with her means that you trust her with all your heart and there is no greater compliment than that to make her feel special.
15. You’ve changed my life for the better
Perhaps your life was like a messy room before she entered it. But now that she’s here, it is much more sorted, organized and rosy. If she makes you a better person, let her know for it will make her the happiest woman.
16. You are the most important puzzle piece in my life
In the puzzle of life where we keep trying to adjust one piece with the other, she is the piece that fits perfectly no matter where you put it, for it is the one that is meant to be.
Tell her how much your texts mean to her
17. You have put me under a spell of temporary madness
Madness is somewhat acceptable in the different types of love. Show her that your love is so intense, you feel like you’re going mad in mirth. If a proposal is on the horizon, add this line to your sweet proposal message to make her cry.
18. When I roll over in bed at night, I picture you next to me
We are most vulnerable in the wee hours of the night and if you’re craving for her at such a time, it means that you’re irrevocably in love with her. Forget writing long paragraphs to make your girlfriend cry, this simple sentence will hit home.
19. I am the ship and you are my sails
Really bringing out those writing skills with this one, it is meant to tell her that you are incomplete without her. Just like a ship always needs its sails, you always need her. These romantic things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry keep getting better and better.
20. My heart dances to your tune
Like children dancing around Pied Piper and his tune, your heart similarly follows her tune wherever she is and wherever she goes. This famous reference will go a long way so try it today.
To really make her feel special, consider telling her that by being with her, you’ve understood the gravity and importance of love in your life. The enormity of a sentence like this will shake her completely, so keep the tissues ready.
22. You have driven the darkness out of my life
Looking for things to say to your girlfriend to make her heart melt? We assure you that this will work. Telling her that your life has only gotten rosier ever since you made her acquaintance is the perfect way to win her heart.
23. I’ll be yours no matter what happens
Ready to show her you’re willing to be hers forever? We don’t know if you believe in eternal love or not, but when you say this to her, she’ll not only have a reason to believe in you but it’ll also make her faith in the concept of love stronger.
24. My love is like a nail for if I cut it off, it will grow again
No number of romantic sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry can compare to when you say this one to her. It means that in any kind of adversity or trouble, your love for her will never stop growing.
25. You play in my mind like a symphony
Music is indeed the essence of love. So the moment you mention any musical references, your love message intensifies tenfold. There is no doubt that this beautiful sentence will do the trick when you want to show your girl how much you love her.
Tell her that she never leaves your mind
26. My heart is in your hands now, keep it safe
When writing an emotional love letter to girlfriend to make her cry, you can end your long letter with this one. These final concluding lines will definitely get the idea across that you are in love and at a point of no return.
27. You don’t need to be perfect for me to love you
Tell her that you don’t care about her imperfections because those are what make her whole and real to you. You’re in love with every single fiber of her and it does not matter where it ranks on the scale of perfection. What matters is that you love everything about her and that you two are still perfect partners.
28. You are my 3 am text
We only text those at 3 am who we love the most or are affected by the most in our lives. By telling her that she’s your 3 am text, you’re conveying that she always pops up in your mind when the going gets tough or when you are yearning for love.
29. I will love you like the sea loves the moon
It’s true that the tides respond to the energies of the moon and this beautiful phenomenon can be a metaphor for your love. Remind her that you love her as desperately as the sea loves the moon.
30. You are the anchor I need
Perhaps you’re a weary old boat but to keep you tethered to reality and regain your strength, her anchor is all you need. You don’t need to be a poet to ace this one. Sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry? Check.
31. We will be together now and forever
No amount of sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry can overshadow the importance of a simple message like this one. No flowery language needed, the meaning of this message does the job in making your woman feel cherished and loved.
32. You don’t need to pay rent to live in my heart
A funny twist to this one, she might be smiling through her tears when you say this to her. What better way to woo her than to make her smile and cry in love at the same time?
33. You are not just the love of my, you are life itself
Being someone’s love is only a part of their existence. But being their entire life is occupying the center stage in their entire existence. Tell her that she’s your life and her heart will melt faster than ever.
34. You are like a fireplace on a snowy winter night
A fireplace is what gives you warmth, comfort and puts you at ease when the snow chills your bones. Just like a fireplace, her presence gives you warmth and shelter in the midst of upheavals.
35. I thought love didn’t exist, but you have helped me discover it
Get real with her and admit to her that perhaps you had lost all faith in the idea of love and companionship. You thought love was a farce or just a road that leads you down to the pain of surviving a heartbreak, but with her, the meaning of love has changed for you.
36. I strongly believe our relationship was written in the stars
Has destiny brought you two together? Is your love so strong that you think the stars aligned for you two to be together? If you love her that strongly, say this to her when you can because it will take your relationship to the next level. Keep reading for more romantic things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry.
37. Like a sponge, you have soaked all my worries dry
In her presence, all your problems and worries seem to vanish into thin air. Like a sponge, she sucks all the negativity out of your life and makes you feel lighter. Tell her all these things by using this simple sentence and she will not be able to hold back her smile.
Show her that you are happier with her around
38. I love you like a love song
Stealing a line from Selena Gomez in this one, this 2011 release is a banger even today. What you mean to say is that in a love song all is perfect and all is beautiful, and your love for her is no less than that. This will definitely make your girlfriend happy.
39. I see your beautiful face even when I close my eyes
With this, you’re telling her that even when she’s not around, she is always on your mind. When you open your eyes, you wait to see her, and when you close your eyes, all you do is think of her and see her in your mind. One of the most beautiful things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry, isn’t it?
40. I could hug you until the end of time
To find sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her feel special, you don’t always need big fancy words to blow her away. By saying something like this too, she will know how cherished and loved she is.
41. Your touch makes me blush
We’ve covered so much about how deeply you love her to make her feel special. But here’s one to show her how special she makes you feel. The fact that her mere touch sends chills down your spine and makes you blush endlessly ought to convey it perfectly.
42. Letting you down is the worst thing I could do for myself
When you say something like this to her, she will know that you are determined to make her happy and her being satisfied and content is one of your goals. If knowing this doesn’t make her cry, we don’t know what will.
43. I can see myself growing old with you
What better way to begin your sweet proposal message to make her cry than by using this line? When you say this to her, she is convinced you’re in this for the long haul.
44. You are not an option, you are a necessity
Putting all writers to shame with this one line! When you say this, her eyes will light up immediately. Tell her that you need her as much as air or water to live and that you cannot imagine a single day going by without her.
Say these sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her feel special
45. I am a sunflower and you are the sun
A clear reference to the phenomenon that the sunflowers often face and shift their bodies toward the sun at peak sunlight. Similarly, when her sunlight beams upon you, you can’t help but turn toward her and give her your undivided attention.
46. When you kiss me, the whole world stops
Her kiss is so enchanting and gripping that you feel like the entire world comes to a standstill when her lips touch yours. Consider your list of sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her blush complete when you say this one.
47. You are a breath of fresh air
Keeping it simple with this one, tell her that she has been a refreshing change in your life and that you are incredibly grateful for her. Perhaps your life was dull and monotonous before her. But now, you’ve gotten the freshness that you needed.
48. I would miss you even if we had never met
Overwhelming words to hear for a person, these can be overwhelming even for you to say. By this, you mean that she holds a part of you that only she can give back to you and nobody else. To really show someone you care, this line will do wonders.
49. The day I met you is the day I started living
When you saw her and when she entered your life, you finally knew how to live. Earlier you were just existing and carrying on. But now you know that life has a bigger meaning. If this isn’t one of the most beautiful things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry, we don’t know what is.
50. You are the dawn to my night
Still, need more romantic sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry? Have you tried this one yet? By saying this, you’re telling her that she is the sunshine and the light you needed at the end of a long night.
51. You are the only good reason to lose sleep
If you’ve been exchanging a lot of late-night text messages or are on calls until midnight, this can be a good thing to say to her around then. Show her that you’re invested in talking to her and would do it happily even if it means losing some sleep.
52. I didn’t know that being this happy was possible
By this, you mean that she has brought so much happiness into your life that you didn’t even know it was possible to feel this amazing. When looking for things to say to your girlfriend to make her heart melt, this one will not let you down.
53. I’d follow you anywhere
Spoken like a true romantic! With this line, you’re telling her that you are hers and only hers. Wherever she goes, you will follow because you just cannot get enough of her.
54. I dreamt of you last night and when I woke up, I knew all my dreams had come true
We dream of that we seek desperately and what better way of telling your girl that than by telling her that being with her is nothing short of a dream come true? We don’t know how hard she will cry but she will definitely love you more when she hears this.
55. You’re the woman every man wishes for
There are many different sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry but you must always tell her how she is the woman of your dreams. Having her is like a wish come true. Want to prove to your girlfriend that you love her? Say this today.
56. I feel like I have been rescued by you
Telling someone that you’ve been saved by them will make them feel special and loved beyond comparison. Tell her that all this time you’d been feeling empty and lost without direction but with her in your life, you don’t feel so lost anymore.
If you say such sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry in happiness, she will be yours forever
57. My favorite place in the world is wherever you are
This is just another way of saying that it does not matter where you are, as long as the two of you are together. All you need is her, and every place in the world suddenly blooms and seems rosier.
58. You are not just my partner but also my guardian angel
Still, looking for more beautiful things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry? Your guardian angel is meant to look out for you every step of the way. So when you say this to your girlfriend, you mean that she is not just your partner or your love but an angel with divine qualities who is meant to guide you in your life.
59. You understand me even better than I do
There is no greater compliment than this one. When you say this to your girlfriend, you mean that she is such an integral part of your life that she knows you even better than you know yourself sometimes.
60. I’m as happy as a puppy when I see you
Taking puppy love to another level, the sweetness of this message is incomparable. Honestly, anything with a puppy involved is enough to unleash the waterworks so definitely add this to your list of sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry.
61. Count the stars or count sheep but count on me to love you forever
I feel like smiling and saying, “Aww”, just while writing this. With a little twist, this line will make her go “aww” too. Trust us when we say that with this one, we’re rooting for love.
62. Your hug is my favorite place
Adorable and insanely sweet, we will be surprised if she does not pull you into a hug, all teary-eyed when you say this to her. Want some extra lovin’? Then tell her this today.
63. You are so beautiful, it would put the poets to shame
One of the things to say to your girlfriend to make her heart melt, this line is going to overwhelm her completely. Her beauty is so mesmerizing that even the most famous poets would not be able to write about it well.
64. Can I go where you go?
A sweet and rather indirect manner of telling her that you are tightly bound by her love and it won’t let you venture off anywhere else. Wherever she goes, you want to follow. Nothing says romance like touching love messages for her to make her cry.
When love is in the air, it doesn’t matter whether you know the notes or not. All that matters is the boundless happiness in your heart and the uncontrollable urge to sing.
66. You feel like coming home
Home is where one feels most like themselves and it is the one place that is truly irreplaceable in the world. Telling her that she feels like coming home means you find a sense of ease with her that you cannot get anywhere else.
67. You give me butterflies in my stomach
Whether it’s first date nerves or asking out a girl in high school, remember what it felt like when someone gave you butterflies in your tummy? When you tell her that she makes you giddy with excitement, you will make her experience those butterflies all over again. She will know how crazy you are for her.
68. With you, I feel complete
It’s as if you were yearning for something that was missing in your life and you did not even realize what it was. But with her in your life, you feel like you have found it and don’t need to look further for anything else.
69. You are my sun, my moon, and all my stars
A famous quote by E.E. Cummings, tell her that your love is so deep, you can see the entire universe in her. Not only is she your world, but she is everything you have ever known. (This is one of the top touching love messages for her to make her cry.)
With such romantic sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry, she will be elated
70. This is our fate, I’m yours
When Jason Mraz sang these lines, we are sure all the girls cried. So if you’re thinking of sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry, I can bet on this one to do the trick.
71. Time stops still when I am in your arms
The feeling of being in her arms is so ethereal and so comforting, that you feel like nothing else matters. So when you are with her and she is embracing you with love, you feel like time stops and all that is in front of you is her. Her hug is worth more than anything.
72. No matter where I go, I will always find my way back to you
How beautiful it is to tell someone that no matter how or where you stray away, their love is always going to pull you right back to them? Prepare to overwhelm her completely when you say this to her.
73. I feel like you speak the language of my soul
Understanding is the key to any relationship and is definitely the basis of true love. If she gets you well even in complete silence, then it is possible that she speaks the language of your soul.
74. Just a whiff of you and I’m in love all over again
No, smelling your girlfriend is not creepy. Rather, it’s very sweet if you say it the right way. Tell her today that even her scent makes you feel like you are falling in love with her all over again.
75. You are my refuge
‘Refuge’ might be a small and simple word but it holds great meaning when you say it to another person. To call them your refuge means that you feel like you can depend on them.
76. Your eyes are a well and I feel like drowning
More than just flirting with your eyes to impress your girl, charm her away with this sentence. Telling her that you want to drown in her eyes means that you are so mesmerized by her, that you can’t help but lose yourself in her too.
77. Your sparkle is going to change the world
Your emotional love letter to your girlfriend to make her cry is incomplete without complimenting her and the shine she brings into this world. When you say this to her, you are showing her how much you believe in her.
78. I love waking up and knowing I’ll get to see you today
If she gets a morning text from you with the above words, I promise you her day will go beautifully. Such romantic sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her heart melt will truly transform her whole day.
79. I love you as much as the plants love the sun
The plants need the sun to survive. Similarly, you need her to survive and carry on. With such a metaphor, you will have her blushing in no time. There’s no end to our list of beautiful things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry.
80. I could not stop loving you more than I could not stop breathing
Loving her comes as naturally to you as breathing does. So just the way you need to breathe to hold onto dear life, you need to love her to give your life any kind of meaning. So you can never stop loving her.
81. You are my favorite ‘hello’ and hardest ‘goodbye’
A cliche but a really popular line, she will definitely know how deeply you love her when you say this to her. You will certainly make her feel blushed when she knows you want to spend all your time with her.
82. You give me hope to carry on
When the world seems like a dull place and everything is morose, the fact that she is by your side and holding your hand is all you need to carry on. Her presence itself gives you more hope for a wonderful life. What could be better than saying that?
83. A day without you feels like a year and a day with you passes in seconds
Time flies when you’re having fun and falling in love too fast. Tell her how difficult it is to be without her and how quickly the day passes when you’re lounging in her arms.
84. At long last, love has arrived, so thank God I’m alive
How could one ever curate a list of sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her feel special without quoting the fabulous Frankie Valli? From his song, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, this one is a winner.
85. Like the ocean has no end, my love also never ceases
As limitless as the ocean, your love for her has no end in sight. The vastness of the ocean is similar to your feelings for her. You don’t need reasons to love her. How are you liking these beautiful things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry?
86. Because of you, I stay grounded
Tell her what kind of an impact she’s had on your life by saying this line to her. Your search for romantic sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry doesn’t get any better after this one.
87. You put the colors in my life
To make it extra romantic, go ahead and say, “Before I met you, everything was in black and white. But ever since you have come into my life, I can see colors that are brighter than ever.”
88. The fire in my heart burns for you constantly
With her love and irresistible beauty, she has set off a fire in your hurt, one that cannot be extinguished so easily. And that same fire only longs for her. Lines like these are the perfect beginning to heart-touching love letters to make her cry.
89. You and I are meant to be together till the end of time
Sweet and simple. Say this with the right emphasis and in the perfect setting and she will fall hard for you all over again. With this one, show her that when she’s around, nobody else will matter.
No matter how, when or where, you are always going to need her to be by your side. Just her being there is enough to bring out the best in you.
91. You make me feel brand new
Little offbeat and underused but this line has a wicked charm of its own. Why not spice up the cute things to say to your girlfriend by trying this one? It means that your girlfriend brings out a whole new and better side of you.
92. My weakness was chocolate but now it’s you
A funny and edgy way of telling her how smitten you are, trust us when we say that she will believe you when you say this. Anyone who prizes someone over chocolate is in some serious love. Always remember that chocolate makes relationships sweeter.
93. Make me yours and I promise I’ll never let you down
This is a big one for it is a promise that you will always cherish and care for her. Be careful when you use this one because even though you know how to make her happy now, you better keep your promise.
94. You are my light at the end of the tunnel
A tunnel is dark, exhausting and saddening. But the light that you see at the very end is what makes the journey through the tunnel worth it. When writing a sweet proposal message to make her cry, this sentence can be a neat finish.
With such a simple line, you don’t need to write a long emotional love letter to make her cry in happiness
95. I love when in the middle of our kiss, I can feel you smiling
Truly romantic, not every sweet line has to be about how she has changed you and your life for the better. Sometimes, the little silly moments too speak volumes of your love.
96. To be with you is heaven on earth
Her presence brings such happiness to you that it feels like heaven on earth. If you are serious about showing her how much you care, use this one correctly.
97. I love you more than to the moon and back
What’s a good way to end heart-touching love letters to make her cry? “I love you to the moon and back” is an old and redundant saying now. Instead, tell her that you’re a step above the rest and you love her much more.
98. You make me feel as though I’m enough
This line does not seem overly romantic on the surface but has incredible depth to it. When you say this, you mean to tell her that all your insecurities and inner battles vanish because she makes you feel like you are worthy of her.
99. My heart somersaults every time I see you
It doesn’t matter that you aren’t a gymnast or can’t do romantic gestures like a somersault in real life. Your words can still do the trick when it comes to writing an emotional love letter to girlfriend to make her cry.
100. Our two hearts beat as one
Do you think you’ve found your soulmate when you see her? Because if the answer to that is yes, then you must have certainly resonated with the above line. It is one of the finest romantic things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry.
101. If you’re lost, you can look and you will find me
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? From the song, Time after time, by Cyndi Lauper, these beautiful lines are the perfect way to end this list of sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry.
A long list indeed but now you are in no dearth of options when you want to think of sweet things to say to your girlfriend to make her cry. Profess your love in the most creative but concise way and she will be bewitched in seconds.
Question: I’m approaching middle age, I’m debt-free and have been maxing out my 401(k) since I got my first job right out of college. That account plus my emergency fund and a small bequest my grandfather left has given me a net worth of $420,000. I plan to keep contributing to my 401(k), but will that be enough for me to retire on? Should I talk to a financial planner?
— Lindsey
Answer: Lindsey, savings-wise, you’re doing very, very well for your age.
A recent survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies notes that the estimated median retirement savings for millennials is only $50,000. So give yourself a big pat on the back for making savings a priority. It’s a huge part of a successful strategy.
Contributing the max to a retirement plan and staying out of debt is a great start. And odds are that if you keep it up, you’re going to have plenty of savings for your golden years.
But if you want to be sure, and perhaps discover ways to reach your goals even faster (early retirement, anyone?) there’s certainly nothing wrong with talking to a qualified financial adviser.
An adviser offers you an expert second set of eyes. Someone who, for example, can tell you whether your current 401(k) asset mix is the optimal choice. Someone who can suggest additional investing options you might never have found on your own. Someone who can keep you on track.
An ideal planner will do more than just run the numbers. They’ll encourage you to think about what you want from life, then show you the shortest path to achieve your dreams.
Too often we focus solely on the present, forgetting that right now is not forever. What you need and want in your 20s and 30s is probably completely different from what you want and need in your 40s and beyond. Or maybe you know what you want – to start a business, say, or buy a house – but you have no idea how to make that happen.
Aqualified financial plannerlooks at the big picture. Analyzing all aspects of your finances, they show you how to position yourself for the long term. Rather than saving haphazardly and spending aimlessly, you’ll follow personalized, unbiased money advice that’s based on your current needs and future goals.
How does an extra $1.7 million for retirement sound?
The stock market is the foundation of investing for retirement and building a nest egg that will keep pace with inflation.
But the stock market can be complicated. While it’s definitely possible to educate yourself, it’s a lot faster and less stressful to gain knowledge from a qualified adviser.
There’s a lot at stake here. A recent Vanguard study notes that on average, the average investor will turn a $500,000 investment into $1.7 million in 25 years. But with a qualified financial adviser, that same $500,000 could grow to $3.4 million. That’s an extra $1.7 million!
Using an adviser can also be safer than doing things on your own. Plenty of people have learned the hard way they shouldn’t take money advice from just anybody – even from someone they trust.
When you hire a qualified financial adviser, you’re looking at someone who’s a fiduciary; legally required to put your interests ahead of their own. That’s critical if you want to avoid some sleazy sales person eyeing a fat commission for selling products good for their bottom line, but not necessarily yours.
So how can you find someone to trust? One way is SmartAsset’s free tool. Fill out a brief questionnaire and in less than five minutes, you’ll be matched you with up to three vetted fiduciary advisers in your area. Talk to them. Visit them. The first appointment is typically free. If you like what you hear, sign up. If you don’t, you’ll likely still get a little free advice.
The life you want
While you’re doing great, Lindsey, most of us will likely need more than just a 401(k) and Social Security to have the retirement we want. An experienced, fiduciary adviser can help you create a strong financial plan; the blueprint for your future happiness and security.
A good planner will be both coach and cheerleader. They’ll teach you how to strengthen your finances, then support and encourage you every step along the way.
The best time to have started planning was 10 years ago. The second-best time is today. Don’t wait a minute longer to take charge of your future.
I’m by no means a prolific chef, but like many people, my culinary pursuits infinitely expanded during the pandemic — more as a way to pass time than solely a way to subsist. And now I think of whipping up new recipes in my tiny apartment kitchen as an actual hobby. But there’s one thing I quickly learned as a burgeoning home cook: Most recipes call for garlic, and I absolutely hate chopping garlic.
While initially I painstakingly chopped up garlic with a knife (hello, garlic fingers), I eventually resorted to buying jarred minced garlic. That is, until I came across the Chef’n Garliczoom this past fall, and I’m still passionate about it months later.
This tiny kitchen gadget makes mincing garlic a cinch. Simply toss in a few whole cloves, then roll the device along the kitchen counter for a customized chop — less rolling results in a coarser chop, while more means a finer mince.
I’m the first to admit my knife skills are subpar, and garlic cloves are so small already that I really struggled to mince them evenly (and safely) by hand. As a result, I became accustomed to coming across unsavory chunks of garlic in the dishes I was preparing and sometimes the occasional finger cut. The practice just wasn’t sustainable.
And if you’ve ever used jarred minced garlic, you know it’s, well, not good. The premade stuff just isn’t as flavorful as the real thing, so you end up using a lot of it. Even then, it doesn’t taste quite right.
Finally I figured there had to be a better way. Since my line of work involves seeking out and reviewing products, I’m always perusing the internet for a life-changing gadget. In this case, I think I simply pulled up amazon.com and typed “garlic chopper” into the search bar.
The Chef’n Garliczoom was one of the first results, and it stood out because it really doesn’t look like other choppers. And hey, does it have wheels? I was intrigued. At just $13, I didn’t think twice about adding it to my cart.
The Chef’n Garliczoom is incredibly easy to use: Pop a few garlic cloves into the round chamber, then roll the green wheels along your countertop to chop. More rolling means a finer mince, while less results in a coarser chop.
When it’s time to clean up, the blades in the Chef’n Garliczoom are easily removed from the chamber — I usually just toss both pieces in my dishwasher. And in terms of storage, this device is ultra compact, so you don’t have to worry about adding another bulky tool to your kitchen arsenal.
I find myself whipping out the Chef’n Garliczoom a few times a week now, and I haven’t bought another jar of minced garlic since purchasing it. My fingers never smell garlicky (and they’re safe from my sloppy chopping skills), and my food tastes awesome — if I do say so myself.
Do you wish you had more money set aside? Not a rainy day fund for unexpected expenses but something that could cushion the financial stress of a major life event?
When Nora Martin was expecting her first child, she wasn’t going to let all the many baby costs bring her down. She had a plan.
“I pretty much wrote up everything that we needed … and then split up the total over six months to see how much we would have to save each month to get to our goal,” Martin said.
This practice of splitting a large financial goal into easier-to-manage chunks has a special name in the personal finance world. It’s called setting up a sinking fund.
What Is a Sinking Fund?
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A sinking fund is a pool of money you regularly contribute to so you spread out the cost of an upcoming expense over time.
It is different from an emergency fund or a standard savings account because a sinking fund is specifically earmarked for a large expense or big-ticket item.
The term “sinking fund” comes from corporate finance lingo. Businesses set aside money in a sinking fund to repay debt or a bond or to prepare for a large capital expenditure.
But you don’t have to own a business to benefit from this money-saving strategy.
Learning to add sinking funds to your budgeting approach is a smart strategy to save up for big money goals, future financial obligations and recurring bills outside of regular monthly expenses.
Why Do I Need a Sinking Fund?
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Why set up a sinking fund versus dumping all your money in one of your other savings accounts and calling it a day? Here are a few reasons to start a sinking fund account.
Sinking Funds Help Manage Large Expenses for Major Life Events
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Saving money in a sinking fund helps you manage upcoming costs that would overwhelm you if you neglected to plan ahead.
If you don’t have a great deal of disposable income each month, it might be tough — if not impossible — to cover a big expense all at once.
For instance, if you waited until December to buy Christmas presents and planned to spend about $800, you might be forced to charge the expenses on your credit card to make it happen.
If you set aside money over time in a separate savings account as a sinking fund — say, $100 a month for eight months — you can avoid going into debt or having to borrow money.
Sinking Funds Save Emergency Funds for Real Emergencies
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Having a sinking fund also helps you avoid dipping into your emergency fund when (non-emergent) big expenses pop up.
Likewise, you don’t have to pause your progress on other money goals, like paying down long-term debt or investing for retirement.
Sinking Funds Can Help Weather the Storm of Variable Income
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Sinking funds make upcoming expenses more manageable. And when it’s time to actually spend the money, you can do so guilt free because you know you’ve been saving up specifically for that purchase.
Sinking funds are also a lifesaver if you have variable income. It can be tough to budget if your income fluctuates from month to month.
With sinking funds, you can put money aside during high-earning months and use that cash during low-earning months.
Types of Sinking Funds You Can Add to Your Budget
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The sinking fund categories you’ll add to your budget will depend on your individual needs and desires.
In general, there are three types of sinking funds: planned goals, recurring costs and indeterminate future expenses.
Planned Goals Sinking Funds
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Some sinking fund examples that would be considered planned goals include:
Vacations
Weddings
New baby expenses
Down payment for a house
Down payment for a new car
These are typically one-time expenses you’ll budget for and can stop saving toward once you’ve reached your targeted amount.
Recurring Costs Sinking Funds
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Some examples of recurring expenses you might want to set up sinking funds for include:
Car insurance premiums
Car registration renewals
Home insurance premiums
Christmas gifts
Birthday gifts
Holiday expenses
Back-to-school shopping
Summer camp fees
Self-employment taxes
Yearly subscriptions
Computer software renewals
Annual fees for credit cards
These are costs you know will come up around the same time each year and need to plan for on an ongoing basis.
Indeterminate Future Expenses
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Indeterminate future expenses are expenses that are bound to happen but you can’t plan when they’ll occur or exactly how much you’ll need. These can include:
Medical expenses
Car maintenance or car repairs
Home repairs or maintenance
Appliance replacements
Do your best to estimate how much you’ll need. Reviewing your past spending in these categories can help.
The Difference Between a Sinking Fund and an Emergency Fund
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You should have your emergency fund separate from your sinking funds. They are not the same thing and ideally should be kept in separate savings fund accounts.
Sinking funds are for planned expenses you can anticipate. Emergency funds are a safety net that should be used only in situations that are urgent, important and unexpected.
For example, you’d use your sinking fund money on plane tickets to visit your mom for the holidays.
But if your mom got into a car accident and you needed to book a plane ticket at the last minute to help her with her recovery, that’s when you’d use your emergency fund.
How to Save Money With a Sinking Fund
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It takes a little math and some organization, but it isn’t difficult to save using sinking funds.
First, you need to figure out the total amount you want to save. Then divide that number by the amount of time you have until you’ll need to spend the money.
This will give you the amount you’ll need to set aside in your sinking fund every month (or week or pay period).
For example, if you want to save $1,000 for a vacation over 10 months, you’d need to add $100 to your vacation sinking fund each month. If math isn’t your strong suit, you can use one of the online sinking fund calculators to figure it out.
Types of Accounts for Sinking Funds
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Since sinking funds typically cover short-term savings goals, you’ll want to be able to access your money easily. Keep it in a high-yield savings account or money market account with attractive interest rates.
Those who prefer the envelope method may keep their sinking fund savings in cash.
If you manage your money with a budgeting app, you can set up your sinking funds digitally. Mint is one of our favorite budgeting apps that doesn’t charge monthly fees.
For longer-term goals, a certificate of deposit, or CD, is another option to store your money and watch it grow — but only if you know you won’t need to withdraw it before the CD matures. You’ll get hit with penalty fees by taking your money out earlier.
While you’d potentially get the greatest return keeping your savings in a brokerage account, that’s usually not recommended for sinking funds because of the risk of losing your savings due to stock market volatility.
5 Tips for Success With Sinking Funds
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Become a pro at using sinking funds with this advice.
1. Separate Your Sinking Fund From Your Main Checking Account
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It’s helpful to keep your sinking fund money in a separate account so you don’t wind up spending your savings on Uber Eats or impulse purchases at Target.
2. Name Your Sinking Fund Accounts
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Giving your sinking fund a name — like “Italy trip” or “house of my dreams” — can help motivate you to keep saving money and not dip into it for something frivolous.
3. Automate Your Savings Transfers
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Streamline the process of saving by setting up automatic transfers or direct deposits into your sinking fund accounts so you don’t even have to think about doing it.
Once you have a sinking fund setting on your checking and savings accounts, it will be easy to automate transfers.
4. Apply Windfalls to Sinking Funds
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If you receive extra money — such as a bonus or tax refund — don’t wait. Add it to your sinking fund today to accelerate your progress toward meeting your financial goals.
5. Prioritize Multiple Savings Goals
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When you list out all the reasons you have to start saving funds, putting money aside for all of these expenses may seem overwhelming. Prioritize needs — like taxes and insurance bills — over wants — such as vacations or holidays.
And know you don’t have to save up for everything all at once. Establish a plan for reaching your money goals that is feasible for you and your financial situation.
It’s tax season — and as any American knows, the process isn’t always without complications.
However, for one Illinois mother, the process is especially difficult as the federal government insists the son she is claiming on her tax filing is dead.
The bizarre situation started five years ago after the boy’s father died, Eboney McDaniel, an Elgin resident, told WLS-TV. The two share a last name but not a birthdate or first name, and when she went to go file her taxes that year, she was rejected with a notice that her son’s social security number was rejected.
“As I file him on my taxes, his social security number is rejected. And it’s rejected because it’s coming up as a death in the system,” McDaniel explained to the local outlet. “To see him deceased on paper, it’s gut-wrenching. It’s a feeling no parent should ever feel.”
In this photo illustration, a Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury on October 14, 2021 in Washington, DC.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
As for her son Jaxen, he is alive and well, she said.
And, despite numerous attempts to get the Social Security Administration and the IRS to rectify that he is indeed still living, she is given an official document from the government that says her son is dead each year.
In addition to completing the legal filing, she said she needs the refund money to care for her son.
“My son, he has autism, so I need the most support possible,” McDaniel told WLS-TV.
“I am his voice. I am in his person who speaks for him, so, I’m going to keep fighting,” the determined mother said.
She also suggested that if the issue is not corrected, it could lead to further complications when her son applies for a job, seeks a mortgage, gets a passport, or files his own taxes.
Internal Revenue Service 1040 Individual income tax forms for 2021 arranged in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. Refund sizes in some cases have been up by nearly 25% compared with last year due to pandemic relief programs and rising wages. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Separately, Democratic lawmakers have said the COVID-pandemic has put a strain on the IRS and has passed funding under the 117th Congress for the IRS to hire 87,000 more agents. Republicans, now in control of the House of Representatives in the 118th Congress, have called the IRS needlessly complicated and have introduced legislation rescinding that funding.
“Hard-working Americans deserve an accountable government that works for them, not against them,” Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado, said in January. “The IRS should never be weaponized against American taxpayers. Rather, it should be focused on providing quality service to taxpayers.”
He added: “Rescinding the funding for 87,000 new IRS agents is a great first step in that direction, and I was happy to vote ‘yes’ on this legislation!”
Some Republicans are also eyeing a new tax system overhaul, which could abolish the IRS.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.
City living has its advantages, but more people usually means more pollution, more rats, and more trash. The problem is worse in some cities than in others.
We compared over 150 of the biggest U.S. cities across four categories, including pollution, living conditions, infrastructure, and consumer satisfaction.
Depending on where you live, you may want to buy some air fresheners, mouse traps, or a can of Raid.
1. Houston, TX
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Overall score: 56.02
Pollution rank: 3
Living conditions rank: 4
Infrastructure rank: 12
Consumer satisfaction rank: 34
2. Newark, NJ
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Overall score: 55.25
Pollution rank: 14
Living conditions rank: 5
Infrastructure rank: 97
Consumer satisfaction rank: 3
3. San Bernardino, CA
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Overall score: 51.58
Pollution rank: 1
Living conditions rank: 56
Infrastructure rank: 131
Consumer satisfaction rank: 1
4. Detroit, MI
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Overall score: 48.3
Pollution rank: 9
Living conditions rank: 35
Infrastructure rank: 89
Consumer satisfaction rank: 4
5. Jersey City, NJ
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Overall score: 48.11
Pollution rank: 50
Living conditions rank: 2
Infrastructure rank: 110
Consumer satisfaction rank: 15
6. Bakersfield, CA
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Overall score: 47.95
Pollution rank: 27
Living conditions rank: 69
Infrastructure rank: 122
Consumer satisfaction rank: 7
7. San Antonio, TX
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Overall score: 47.43
Pollution rank: 34
Living conditions rank: 12
Infrastructure rank: 29
Consumer satisfaction rank: 36
8. Fresno, CA
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Overall score: 47.27
Pollution rank: 31
Living conditions rank: 81
Infrastructure rank: 121
Consumer satisfaction rank: 5
9. Oklahoma City, OK
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Overall score: 46.51
Pollution rank: 5
Living conditions rank: 25
Infrastructure rank: 8
Consumer satisfaction rank: 96
10. Yonkers, NY
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Overall score: 46.36
Pollution rank: 46
Living conditions rank: 8
Infrastructure rank: 128
Consumer satisfaction rank: 14
11. Shreveport, LA
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Overall score: 46.34
Pollution rank: 26
Living conditions rank: 86
Infrastructure rank: 46
Consumer satisfaction rank: 23
12. New York, NY
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Overall score: 46.19
Pollution rank: 102
Living conditions rank: 1
Infrastructure rank: 62
Consumer satisfaction rank: 13
13. Birmingham, AL
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Overall score: 45.74
Pollution rank: 94
Living conditions rank: 3
Infrastructure rank: 20
Consumer satisfaction rank: 19
14. Ontario, CA
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Overall score: 45.62
Pollution rank: 8
Living conditions rank: 63
Infrastructure rank: 79
Consumer satisfaction rank: 10
15. Los Angeles, CA
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Overall score: 45.59
Pollution rank: 30
Living conditions rank: 29
Infrastructure rank: 55
Consumer satisfaction rank: 12
Methodology
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For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, we gathered publicly available data on the factors listed in the table below.
We then grouped those factors into four categories: Pollution, Living Conditions, Infrastructure, and Consumer Satisfaction.
Next, we calculated weighted scores for each city in each category.
Finally, we averaged the scores for each city across all categories. We eliminated 48 cities lacking sufficient data for a fair comparison, resulting in a final sample size of 152 cities.
The city that earned the highest average score was ranked “Dirtiest” (No. 1).
The contraction is the biggest in the crisis-hit island nation’s 75 years of independence.
Sri Lanka’s crisis-hit economy shrank by a record 7.8 percent last year, official data shows, as the country struggles with its worst financial crisis in seven decades.
The island’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 12.4 percent, according to the figures released by the state-run census and statistics department on Thursday.
Sri Lanka’s growth is expected to shrink by 3 percent this year, Moody’s Investors Service said on Monday but growth is expected to rebound in 2024.
An unprecedented economic crisis sparked huge protests in the island nation, culminating last July when a mob stormed the home of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, forcing him to flee the country and resign.
Since then, a new government has worked to repair Sri Lanka’s battered public finances and secure a sorely needed International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
Last year’s contraction – the biggest in the country’s 75 years of independence – compared with 3.5 percent growth in 2021 and a 4.6 percent contraction in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit.
It was “caused by the deepening of the economic crisis … frequent power disruptions, shortages in fuel, raw materials, (and) foreign currency”, the census and statistics department said in a statement.
The data showed some improvement in Sri Lanka’s fiscal position with inflation moderating to about 50 percent in February, down from a record high of 69.8 percent in September.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has raised taxes and ended generous subsidies on fuel and electricity to boost government revenue after his predecessor defaulted on Sri Lanka’s $46bn foreign debt last year.
The reforms are a precondition of a $2.9bn rescue package from the IMF, which Sri Lanka expects to finalise next week.
But the tax and price hikes have been roundly unpopular, triggering protests and industrial stoppages around the country.
About 40 trade unions warned on Thursday they planned a general strike next week if their demands for concessions on the austerity programme were not met.
Sri Lanka aims to announce a debt-restructuring strategy in April and step up talks with commercial creditors ahead of an IMF review of a bailout package in six months, its central bank governor said last week.
Wickremesinghe has said Sri Lanka can expect to remain bankrupt until at least 2026 and insisted his government has no option but to implement the reforms demanded by the IMF.
The census and statistics department said the agriculture sector shrank 4.6 percent last year, while industries contracted 16 percent, and services dropped 2 percent from a year earlier.
Sri Lanka’s economy shrank 11.8 percent in the July-September quarter from a year ago, the second-worst quarterly contraction ever for the country.
“These numbers are broadly in line with expectations. In the last three months of 2022, Sri Lanka was hit by very high inflation, fuel shortages and high interest rates,” said Sanjeewa Fernando, senior vice president of research at Asia Securities.
“For the rest of this year, with IMF funds expected, the central bank should be able to keep the currency strengthened, eventually reduce interest rates, and continue to see inflation ease.”
In 1999 Colleen Fitzpatrick, better known as Vitamin C, simply exploded onto the music charts, and garnered world wide popularity with the release of her self-titled debut solo album. The first single off of that album was “Smile”, the highest charting single she has had in her career, reaching the #18 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was this song that made Vitamin C a household name.
The second single from the album, entitled “Me, Myself & I”, failed to chart, but the follow up third single called “Graduation (Friends Forever)” peaked at number 12 on the Top 40 Mainstream Chart and number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Australia, the song peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Charts and was certified Platinum. That song has served as an anthem for seemingly every high school senior graduating class across the world since it’s release in 2000.
In the height of her success Vitamin C was marketed through collaborations with a number of high profile brands. In 2000, Mattel produced a Vitamin C doll, and a Vitamin C lipstick shade was made by Tommy Hilfiger. She also wrote and recorded “Vacation”, which became the opening theme to the short movie Pikachu’s Vacation (from Pokémon: The First Movie). The 2001 video game EA Sports Triple Play featured Vitamin C as an animated baseball player.
In 1988, Vitamin C made her screen debut under her real name in the feature film Hairspray as Amber Von Tussle, the on-screen daughter of co-stars Debbie Harry and Sonny Bono. She made her first musical outing as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Eve’s Plum, named after The Brady Bunch actress Eve Plumb, formed in 1991. She formed the band with Michael Kotch in 1991. A year later the group signed a record deal with Epic Records in 1992, releasing two albums and seven singles between 1993 and 1995. It was in In 1998, Colleen Fitzpatrick launched a pop music solo project as “Vitamin C” and signed an album deal with Elektra Records. So why the name Vitamin C? “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” she told Craig Kilborn in an interview in 2000. “I wanted to do something with my first initial, like C+, but that would be average and bad.” Instead, she explained, Vitamin C “is good for you. Everyone knows it. Everyone likes it.”
So where is she now?
In 2005 she wrote a song called “We Are Gonna Happen” which appeared on the soundtrack for Nickelodeon’s television show Unfabulous. Vitamin C also co-wrote a song for Miley Cyrus, called “Let’s Get Crazy” which appeared on the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack. In 2009 she wrote a song called “One and the Same” for a couple of other one-time Disney stars in Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. That song appeared in the Disney Channel Original Movie Princess Protection Program. After her performing career slowed down, Colleen started a production company called VCR in 2006, where she worked more with these nickelodeon stars and 2012, Colleen became Nickelodeon’s vice president. In this position she was overseeing all musical content across the Nickelodeon brand as well as handling the A&R and management of Nickelodeon artists. From their she landed a job at Netflix in 2019.
She spoke with E! News about the opportunity she landed; “If there’s a particular show, and it’s a musical, I work on casting the composer and the music supervisor and work with the internal creative teams and the external creative teams on original songs, and how the written word, if you will, ends up being executed on the music side,” she shared. “If it’s something that’s more score-facing, I work internally with people to get the right composer on board and work with the creative to set up the scores and songs.”
Image Credit: Lily Moayeri
Fitzpatrick, who also starred in films like Liar Liar, said she became focused on writing music rather early on in her life, which lead her down the path she’s on now in her career.
“Where my talent limitations could hold me back as an artist, they didn’t necessarily hold me back if I were writing for other people,” she said. “I could imagine a world far greater than my own, far different from my own. That led me into artist development.” “There are a lot of different ways to look at music,” she shared. “It’s not just as simple as, ‘Oh, there’s a song in the show.’ What does that song do? What do we want that song to represent? And how do you get there?”
Now she lives quite a low profile, but Vitamin C has cemented herself a legacy in the world of pop that will live on forever.
There are two entirely different audiences for the Resident Evil 4 remake: those who have played the original game, perhaps multiple or even dozens of times over the last 18 years, and people who have never played it, but want to know what the fuss is all about. Let’s start with the former: unequivocally, if you are a fan of Resident Evil 4, you must play the remake. It’s not only one of the best action games in recent memory; it’s the best Resident Evil since, well, probably the original Resident Evil 4.
From the jump, the remake overwhelms you with danger. The faithfully recreated “village” section throws dozens of enemies your way, requiring you to handle the numerous combat scenarios or die quickly. As it was in 2005, it’s a punch-in-the-face type of opening, the game telling you this is how it will be from here on out; get used to it. Running for my life, terrified of the chainsaw-wielding maniac chasing me through crowds of nasty folks, all the while desperately shooting at enemy kneecaps, parrying incoming projectiles, and running in and out of houses as my scarce ammo count gets closer and closer to zero was tense in a way this level hasn’t been since I was a kid. That the game maintains this tight-gripped action until the credits roll is a feat of game pacing. For the first time since 2005, Resident Evil 4 is scary again, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s incredible.
Gameplay has been expanded – namely, you can walk and aim your gun at the same time now, as well as the aforementioned parrying and new melee options – which makes the already-great bones of RE4 feel modern and fresh. Despite my constant anxiety, I had so much fun that I welcomed every major combat encounter. Especially by the time I unlocked the more powerful weapons – shoutout to my semi-automatic shotgun – blowing through scores of enemies felt fantastic. And don’t get me started on the game’s brutally gross gore system; blasting off heads and arms and even shooting enemies entirely in half as blood flows like confetti out of a pinata has rarely looked this fantastically disgusting. I am a freak, and the Resident Evil 4 remake indulged my sick love of virtual gore.
From a visual and level design perspective, the Resident Evil 4 remake knows precisely when to be nostalgic and when to be fresh. As a lifelong fan of the original, seeing some of my favorite levels and combat arenas recreated 1:1 on the PlayStation 5 was novel and fun. That the next room might be a complete remix or reinvention of a different area, however, kept me on my toes, as if I knew the subject of the painting, but all the details were in new colors. Nevertheless, I welcomed every new addition as much as I did the old standbys.
Perhaps the most elbow grease went into rewriting the game’s story, though the narrative beats are all the same. You play as Leon Kennedy, now a special agent of the United States president sent to a remote Spanish village in search of the president’s missing daughter, Ashley Graham. At that village, all hell breaks loose. You’re soon confronted by scores of angry locals infected by a parasite, Las Plagas, making them easy for the game’s main antagonist to control without completely losing their mental faculties. Leon’s nightmare takes him through the remote village, into the bowels of a baroque castle hoarded over by a ghoulish Napoleon wannabe, and then finally onto the shores of a military stronghold. All the while, monsters, gore, and death follow.
It’s campy, goofy, and over-the-top. And much of that charm is retained here, but with the addition of much sharper writing and better characterization. Ashley, in particular, has been rewritten as a real character with emotions, intelligence, and charisma. That other characters don’t sexually harass her like they did in the original is also a huge improvement. Across the board, the cast has received an overhaul, making the protagonists more likable, the enemies more menacing, and the twisting threads of the plot somewhat more coherent – all the while never losing what made the original story so fun in the first place.
I could write a metaphorical book about all the ways I love the Resident Evil 4 remake, but it might be simplest to tell you to look down at the score at the bottom of this page and sum it up like this: if you loved Resident Evil 4 in the past, you will love this remake. Period. Point blank. It is a love letter to a game that fans know up, down, left, right, and center, a faithful recreation at all the right moments, but with expert refinements and modern sensibilities. It’s also a radical reimagining when it needs to be, a wonderfully fun game fully confident in its ability to remake one of the best games of all time.
What it lacks, however, is context. And that’s important.
Quickly following any mention of the original Resident Evil 4 is discussion of its camera. Rather than the fixed camera angles of its predecessors, the original game placed the camera behind Leon’s back. Most importantly, he was slightly off-center to the left. When he aimed, you looked directly over his right shoulder. This perspective is, of course, the template for almost every third-person video game that came after. Resident Evil 4 changed the shape of the game industry.
As great as this remake is – and let me reiterate, it’s incredible – I do not think it will show you why Resident Evil 4 was so groundbreaking. It just can’t. There’s no universe where this game will ever be as important as the game it remakes. It can’t come out in the same time, space, and context as the first Resident Evil 4. Somewhat ironically, it’s only as good as it is now because it exists in a post-Resident Evil 4 world. And so, while I think it can show you why Resident Evil 4 was fun, goofy, and endearing, if you’re someone interested in just why this old game has such an enduring legacy – especially one strong enough to warrant such a massively expensive remake – your best bet is to still play the original, to try and put your mind in a pre-Resident Evil 4 world to understand how that game could change everything. Or better, you can watch a few minutes of a Let’s Play or read one of the thousands of articles about it. That will make playing the remake a much richer experience; you can see decades of lessons learned throughout the game industry about how to make a third-person action game thrilling, fun, and mechanically effective reapplied to the source material. It’s a refinement, not a reinvention. And that space is the most interesting place this remake can occupy.
The Resident Evil 4 remake is about everything I could’ve wanted. But importantly, it doesn’t overwrite its predecessor. If anything, this new version reinforces why the original Resident Evil 4 is a game people should still seek out, play, or at least watch and learn about. But as a love letter to one of the greatest games of all time, as a new historical artifact that reinforces why the source material was so landmark in the first place, this new trek through the Spanish countryside is as good as it gets and makes a great game that much better.
Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 were from another time. Resident Evil 3 was anemic and disappointing yet deserving of a second chance. But Resident Evil 4 is the classic that reinvented a whole genre and revitalized a series with a gameplay loop so endlessly rewarding that it still warrants a replay every few years even almost two decades later. Those first three made cases for their remakes — ones rooted in their age — but Resident Evil 4 can’t claim to be geriatric when it still suplexes most of its competition into submission. The Resident Evil 4 remake, however, is a carefully considered reimagining that more than justifies its existence by keeping the skeleton of the original and thoughtfully improving it without sacrificing the brilliant Las Plagas-ridden heart at the center of it.
Resident Evil 4’s combat is one of its more persistent legacies and makes for an effective example of the type of smart changes Capcom has broadly made with this remake. The original revolutionized the series’ style of horror by injecting more adrenaline into the mix, which maintained the signature amount of tension but dialed up the action and pacing of it. Enemy and resource management were still crucial in Resident Evil 4, however, players just had to make decisions even faster and with more skill to overcome the stronger and greater hordes of foes.
The remake still has that general flow of hurriedly managing an incoming mob and that thrill can’t be understated. Fights are always frenetic, nail-biting affairs that test the player’s instinct and reaction times in the midst of all-encompassing chaos. Ever-present chaos comes from the resources that corpses drop dynamically, what Las Plagas forms pop out, what ammo is in stock, the enemy types that spawn in, and what parts of the arena the player gets funneled to. With a wide variety of foes, a constant supply of unique scenarios, and extensive weapon upgrade trees, encounters never lose their edge because there are so many different variables at play that delightfully balance player choice and the unpredictable bedlam that keeps it engaging. It’s an array of systems that are remarkable on their own and transcend when put together.
Translating that from the original is no small task, yet Capcom was also able to go above and beyond by adding to that loop in this remake. The quick select feature — which has been a series staple since Resident Evil 5 — finally takes out the annoying menu-based weapon switching from the original. It’s not always as instantaneous as it should be since there is some animation prioritization, but it’s substantially less jarring than slowly pausing the game to whip out the shotgun. Being able to simultaneously move and shoot also makes Resident Evil 4 more fluid and hasn’t sucked out the suspense since it has only allowed for more frantic maneuvering and close shaves.
The new parry also helps with these close shaves, as Leon can counter almost any melee attack. While it initially seems limiting to tie parrying to the knife’s durability, it’s a wonderfully nuanced system that works in tandem with its aggressive nature while also yielding a more mechanically rewarding defensive option. Poorly executing a parry will still stop the attack (except on Professional), but perfectly timing it will stun the enemy and open them up for a swift boot to the face. There’s unfortunately no way to parry grabs and some foes are extremely handsy, but being able to do a quick counter stab to break free at the cost of a lot of durability is a decent compromise. It’s yet another skill-based option that naturally fits into Resident Evil 4’s intricately interwoven systems.
And while those combat changes accentuate what makes Resident Evil 4Resident Evil 4, some of the other tweaks evoke other aspects of the series’ DNA. Despite some annoying exceptions that unexpectedly tie off earlier areas, it’s much more open than the original and has locked boxes and side missions that encourage players to backtrack and splinter from the main path.
Dead Space has drifted aimlessly in space since 2013 after Electronic Arts unceremoniously severed its umbilical cable. It died on…
As shown in the Dead Space remake, these additions reward those who want to explore with valuable resources, some unexpectedly challenging fights, and a more intimate sense of place. Passing through areas multiple times adds a feeling of familiarity that some of the best video game hubs have, like Resident Evil 2’s Raccoon Police Station and the USG Ishimura from the aforementioned Dead Space remake. Redesigned levels that neatly loop in on each other and the lack of loading screens also make backtracking a painless exercise. Combined with its more intuitive puzzles and new open-ended treasure combining mechanic, Resident Evil 4 is much closer to previous Resident Evil games while not forsaking its own identity as the action-oriented entry.
It’s an exceptional balancing act that also extends to the series’ horror roots, as the radical jump in technology allows it to use darkness to create eerier scenarios. Ashley’s reworked section benefits greatly from this visual makeover since Capcom uses this to create an anxiety-inducing key hunt with a unique mechanic at its center, one that takes full advantage of the enhanced lighting. By overhauling the entire segment and doubling down on horror, playing as Ashley is no longer a tedious diversion from the main star and is instead a stressful and welcome change of pace.
Capcom again heightens the horror elements with its Regeneradores by bathing the island lab they call home in faint, flickering lights and crafting intricate scenarios that test the player’s ability to act under pressure while shrouded in darkness. Figuring out where to go and having to snipe tiny Las Plagas parasites on a moving target with such narrow room for error is the type of intensity that succinctly sums up the game’s best features. While their unsettling elongated arms, red eyes, and ominous asthmatic wheezes were creepy in the original, they are downright terrifying in the remake because of how it is built to better highlight those frightening features.
This portion of the game is a triumph not only for its clever design but also because of how it diverts from the presumed path. Subverting expectations works wonderfully in the context of horror and why its scarier parts are so effective, but it’s also what keeps the game interesting as a whole.
Capcom has analyzed seemingly every inch of the original and come up with ways to bring out a section’s particular tone or implement wholly new ideas. Iconic enemy encounters have been astutely remixed, action set pieces are bigger and more bombastic, some sections have been slotted elsewhere, old enemies have new functions, its boss fights (which benefit greatly from the gameplay upgrades) have been streamlined across the board, and some filler stretches have been given compelling new mechanics or twists.
Even the story is significantly more coherent since the team added context and connective tissue that better links it all together. Ashley and Luis have gotten the most improvements, as they’re no longer grating dweebs, but capable characters with actual arcs and much more agency. Leon also has more emotional range and thankfully doesn’t just treat Ashley with contempt, yet he still retains his signature one-liners and acrobatic skills that are among his best. Ada, on the other hand, gives a surprisingly lifeless performance with stiff line reads that aim for effortlessly cool, but just come off as effortless. It’s confusing why Capcom brought back Ada’s actor from the maligned Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City when the character was portrayed so well in the sublime Resident Evil 2 remake.
Aside from Ada’s inferior voice, just about every other adjustment in the Resident Evil 4 remake is a remarkable achievement that makes one of the best games of all time even better. It’s not even just about the quality of these changes, but also how many there are over the course of its beefy 20-hour campaign. Capcom fundamentally understood why Resident Evil 4 is a classic and used that knowledge to develop a scarier and more action-packed version of the game that also honors the puzzle-oriented nature of the other installments. The harmonious fusion of these pieces has made it the ultimate Resident Evil game, a top-tier remake, and an overall masterpiece.
SCORE: 10/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 10 equates to “Masterpiece.” This is the rare release that transcends genre and must be experienced by all fans of the medium.
Disclosure: The publisher provided a PlayStation 5 copy for our Resident Evil 4 remake review. Reviewed on version 1.002.000.
In 2001, four years before the original Resident Evil 4 was released, Capcom knew it had a problem. The Resident Evil series was stuck in a cookie-cutter mold, producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said at the time. “The whole concept of RE4 was to reinvent the game,” he said. “We wanted to give the gamers something new.”
The result was a combat-forward reboot of the series that reconsidered its survival-horror roots, pitching Resident Evil 2 co-star Leon S. Kennedy as an international action hero on a mission to save the U.S. president’s daughter from a cult. Resident Evil 4 was hailed as a masterpiece, injecting new life into the franchise that would only become even more action-focused in ensuing sequels — ultimately prompting yet another reinvention of the series with the back-to-basics horror game Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.
Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 4 reimagines the series’ most beloved and highly influential entry with lavish detail, modernizing the game from top to bottom. Developers have reframed Leon’s adventure through the lens of other recent Resident Evil remakes, bringing new levels of beauty and squishy gore to Resident Evil 4 while also updating its controls and story. The result is a clear demonstration that the developers understand their source material, and want to make it sing by fleshing out every possible detail.
The game also strongly signals that Resident Evil may be in need of a reinvention once again.
Image: Capcom
Resident Evil 4’s core elements are present in the remake. Leon S. Kennedy, now a dashing government agent, is dispatched on a covert solo mission to Spain, where he searches for a target codenamed “Baby Eagle” — real name Ashley Graham, the daughter of U.S. President Graham. A group of cultists have kidnapped her in a plot to infect her with a parasite, and ultimately make her their puppet. As Leon searches for Ashley, he encounters a remote rural village overrun by the parasite. Its angry residents — and a series of ultra-powerful men and monsters — stand between Leon and his rescuee.
Leon is no longer the rookie cop of his previous game, and he no longer faces danger in the form of one or two shambling zombies at a time. Instead, he is well armed and combat-ready, and faces swarms of armed, infected humans known as Ganados. While resource management and ammunition scarcity was core to the gameplay of early Resident Evil games, in 4, players concern themselves more with crowd control and — specifically in the remake — parrying attacks from all sides. Resident Evil 4 presents a new type of challenge: surviving against overwhelming odds.
In the remake, the dance to avoid death can be daunting. Ganados and burly men wielding chainsaws or giant hammers can quickly surround Leon. But Leon can parry or dodge just about any attack. He can roundhouse-kick or suplex bad guys, before finishing them off with a knife through the skull. Or he can approach encounters with stealth, creeping up behind unsuspecting enemies and dispatching them with a quiet execution. All these options make every combat encounter exciting and flexible in their demands; occasionally, they can be frustrating, as the game pours waves of enemies on Leon in set pieces that feel more like an exercise in trial-and-error than puzzling out a solution.
“Guess this is their idea of a warm welcome” —Leon S. KennedyImage: Capcom
As in the original, Leon must also protect Ashley from harm in multiple, albeit brief segments where the two team up. Ashley is totally vulnerable in these moments, and Leon must not only fight for his own survival, but hers as well. This time, she’s a far less complicated babysitting assignment; her health system has been greatly simplified. Ashley’s presence was a famously divisive element of the original, but she’s less of a nuisance here, and can be commanded to stay close to Leon (during chase sequences) or to keep her distance (during combat). The two work well together, and it’s fun to watch them flirt.
In between RE4’s action-heavy set pieces is a series of puzzles, many of them inscrutable and ornate in the classic Resident Evil style, along with fetch quests. These lock-and-key tricks still take a back seat to the combat, and after all this time, still feel perfunctory in the grand scheme of the game’s design — even the puzzles specific to the remake feel like an afterthought on the developers’ part.
Players will probably spend more time puzzling out how best to equip Leon, as a mystical, ever-present merchant offers a huge array of upgrades, new weapons, armor, repairs, and recipes for Leon to purchase. (The Merchant quips, as fans would demand him to, “What are ya buyin’?” but only sometimes, in a great and rare display of restraint from the designers.) Capcom has added a new layer to Leon’s upgrades in the remake, letting him not only increase the size of the attaché case that stores his items, but also the case itself, with variants that offer varying perks, and attachable charms that offer even more buffs. Players can earn these charms at the shooting range minigame, an amusing, highly replayable diversion that appears at several locations in the game — I lost far too much time there trying to unlock the best charms in RE4, which are based on RNG.
This is where the fun begins.Image: Capcom
Resident Evil 4 also diverges from past games in its linearity. There’s very little backtracking to do here, as the game aggressively pushes Leon forward to new areas and new scenarios. While the same sequence of events is intact from the original, the overall flow and momentum have been both shaken up and smoothed out. Where Capcom has cut, wisely, is in eliminating or reframing the sillier components of the original game. Quick-time events from the original, where Leon would have to outrun boulders or an out-of-place mechanized giant statue, only to potentially fail in a matter of milliseconds before doing it all over again, have been recontextualized. The most striking and welcome example is how Capcom recast the central character of Ramón Salazar, who comes across less like a bleached Chucky doll and more like a distinguished but decaying old man.
For all of the rough edges that it smooths over, RE4 pulls off the same trick that RE2 did in 2019, making a groundbreaking but now dated game feel brand-new again. But after four Resident Evil games in as many years, even the current incarnations of the franchise are starting to feel a bit familiar — there are hints of the cookie-cutter mold that Kobayashi set out to shrug off more than 20 years ago, even in Capcom’s slick and gorgeously produced remakes. This latest one is no anomaly.
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard and Village showed, just like the original RE4, that Capcom can adapt and reinvent. After completing 4 once again, the most obvious question the remake left me with was: Where do they go from here?
Resident Evil 4 will be available on March 24 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed using a final “retail” PlayStation 5 download code provided by Capcom. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.
“Resident Evil 4” was first released on the Nintendo GameCube back in 2005. Since then, it’s been hailed as one of the best video games of all time. Its goofy dialogue and action-based gameplay made for an entertaining adventure with government agent Leon S. Kennedy as he rescues the president’s kidnapped daughter, Ashley, from a mysterious cult.
Almost 20 years later, Capcom has now remade “Resident Evil 4” from the ground up. When it was first announced, I thought to myself, “This game holds up and it doesn’t need a remake.” I was dead wrong. This remake of “Resident Evil 4” is amazing as it manages to honor the original, but also sets itself apart from it.
The game follows Leon on a mission to a rural village in Spain. The villagers there are infected with a parasite called Las Plagas and attack him on sight. As he fights his way through the village, he must uncover the truth behind the parasite while also tracking Ashley.
It’s a very silly premise that works as a sort of B-movie aesthetic in the original game. However, the remake has a much darker and more serious tone. It’s reminiscent of games like “The Last of Us” and “A Plague Tale: Innocence,” where you’re on an escort mission with a companion.
The remake seems to take some cues from the more survival horror leanings of the “Resident Evil 2” and “Resident Evil 3” remakes. There are sections of the game in dark and enclosed areas with much dimmer lighting than in the original, invoking feelings of fear and dread. I became more methodical and careful about what might be hiding around the corner, rather than just going in guns blazing as I did in the original game. But the remake still retains some of the original’s levity by allowing Leon to melee wounded enemies with a roundhouse kick or suplex.
The game strikes the perfect balance between horror and action, whereas I felt that 2021’s “Resident Evil Village” was a very uneven experience — the action-packed Castle Dimitrescu was followed up by horrifying House Beneviento, which resulted in a whiplash pacing. In this “Resident Evil 4” remake, the combat sequences are exhilarating but afterward allow for moments of brevity in between. There are 16 total chapters and it certainly felt twice as long as the original. The game is so well-paced that I didn’t realize I spent about an hour on each chapter.
Another immediate difference I felt in the game was its controls. They feel much smoother than they ever did in the original “Resident Evil 4.” The original game played out in a stop-and-go motion, requiring Leon to stand still while he aimed his gun down at enemies. In this remake, Leon has much more flexibility and is able to perform motions such as backing up while also aiming down and shooting. It’s such a small change in gameplay detail that has massive ramifications on the game’s fast-paced shooting combat.
The PS5’s DualSense controller was implemented here nicely, too. Whenever Leon patches in a radio signal to speak with someone, you can hear it through the controller’s speakers. The haptic feedback from the trigger buttons also adds a touch of immersion as you can feel your weapon’s drawback and recoil.
The only complaint is that Leon sometimes feels like he runs too slowly and sluggishly. In order to do a melee attack on an enemy, you have to be up close. When shooting at a distance and seeing the enemy double over, that’s your cue to do melee them. However, Leon might not make it up to the enemy in time before they recover, leading to an awkward situation where now I have to try and back up to avoid being attacked.
Enemies will come at Leon in droves, but he has a huge arsenal of pistols, machine guns and shotguns to take them down. He can also find currency lying all around the village to buy various items, like first aid kits and weapon upgrades. So whether you like to go for precise headshots with a pistol, or mow down enemies with a submachine gun, you can tailor Leon’s weapons to your own play style. The game is also intensely replayable as there are multiple difficulty modes and special unlockable weapons for finishing a playthrough under certain conditions.
There are some other big gameplay changes to the game as well. When Ashley is accompanying Leon, you have the option to either have her stay close in order to run past enemies or give you space so you can safely shoot them down without her getting in the way. This is a welcome addition as it gives more options to protect Ashley. However, it still feels like you’re babysitting her, given that she doesn’t have any way to defend herself. This is really annoying considering how fast-paced the combat is — it’s easy to panic when someone is carrying her away and you still have to deal with numerous enemies trying to stab you.
The spinel jewels found in the original game were only meant to be sold for cash. However, in the remake, they can now be traded in for extra perks, such as a treasure map of the area Leon is currently in, or extra parts for guns, like a fancy new scope. The remake also adds side quests, which include small tasks like killing three rats in a building. While these sound mundane, it’s worth completing them as they reward you with spinel jewels to trade in.
These new features are smart touches that honor the foundation of the original game while also modernizing it for the current day. It’s clear that Capcom put quite a bit of thought into the “Resident Evil 4” remake in order for it to stand on its own merits. It doesn’t replace the original game at all; it’s merely a different and supplemental version of it.
Whether you’re a long-time fan of “Resident Evil 4” or a newcomer to it, this remake is an incredible game. Despite some small issues, I can’t overstate how much fun it is and how it honors the original’s legacy as one of the greatest video games of all time.
My garden in January is always a cold and snowy place. Looking out on the snowy landscape, I make notes of where I might improve my winter interest. In the backyard this currently includes ‘Miss Kim’ lilacs (Syringa pubescens ‘Miss Kim’, Zones 3–8), spruce (Picea, Zones 2–7), crabapples (Malus), Viburnum, ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius, Zones 2–8), ‘Matrona’sedum (Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’, Zones 2–9). There is also an obelisk and a birdbath.
My supervisor inspects the winter sowing project.
Fast-forward a couple of months to the first flowers of spring: Crocus.
Fritillaria pallidiflora (Zones 5–9) is a spring ephemeral with large, buttery yellow bell-shaped blooms that last about three weeks before setting seed and then disappearing underground until next year.
The garden is in full-swing by June withAllium‘Purple Sensation’ (Zones 3–9), pinkPaeonia veitchii (Zones 4–8), yellowPrimula, the pink flowers on the crabapples, and the various-colored foliage ofHeuchera. Clematis durandii (Zones 5–9), on the obelisk, will bloom from July through October, and Dahlia ‘Cornel Bronze’ (Zones 8–10 or as a tender bulb) will start flowering in August and continue until frost.
Peonies are an early summer highlight throughout the garden, including the unusual peachy, copper color of Paeonia (Itoh) ‘Singing in the Rain’.
The supervisor is serious about his work and is always on the job. Here he is inspecting Dahlia ‘Ferncliff Copper’, which grew well over the height of our 6-foot fence.
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President Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 includes a whopping $1.9 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), a massive increase of millions of dollars from the previous year’s budget.
The proposal comes as the ATF faces increased scrutiny over its efforts to further regulate firearms, which includes the implementation of multiple controversial rules, such as the banning of stabilizing pistol braces, a “zero-tolerance” policy for federal firearms dealers and rules cracking down on “ghost guns.”
If approved, Biden’s budget would increase funding for the ATF by roughly $200 million, or 13.6%, compared to the fiscal year 2023 budget. It would also mark a $663 million increase, or 50%, from former President Obama’s final budget in fiscal year 2017.
This 2008 file photo shows weapons seized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and laid out on a table at the bureau’s Arizona headquarters in Phoenix.(Reuters)
According to the White House, the additional funding would go towards further regulating the firearms industry, including implementing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, creating gun trafficking strike forces and enforcing background checks.
President Biden speaks about the progress of the administration’s economic agenda at Belmont Water Treatment Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 3, 2023. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Republican lawmakers have taken steps to combat the ATF’s rules, including introducing legislation that would expand the rights of gun owners across the country, such as protecting the gun rights of full-time travelers.
Some lawmakers have also demanded ATF Director Steven Dettelbach testify before the House Judiciary Committee over the agency’s efforts to implement its new rules.
“The ATF’s lack of transparency comes after the agency issued a final rule banning stabilizing pistol braces, and as the agency continues to shut down lawful businesses through the ‘zero-tolerance’ policy for federal firearms dealers (FFLs),” the Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote in a letter to Dettelbach earlier this month.
President Biden’s then-nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Steve Dettelbach speaks during an event about gun violence in the Rose Garden of the White House April 11, 2022, in Washington, DC.(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Beyond the ATF funding, Biden’s $6.9 trillion budget proposal has received sharp criticism from Republicans in Congress with some referring to it as “funky voodoo accounting.”
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
The pandemic has accelerated support for a shorter workweek, as many now call for abandoning ‘hustle culture’ to find a better work-life balance.
Some 71 percent of Americans say they support the concept of a four-day workweek, a poll for Newsweek shows, while 83 percent think they could complete their weekly workload in four days.
American work culture remains focused on ‘busyness,’ which could represent an obstacle to the introduction of the shorter workweek.
Many Americans work in retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and medical professions, where the need to have round-the-clock coverage might impede the implementation of a four-day system.
Americans are ready for a shorter workweek, the results of an exclusive Newsweek poll show. But HR and workforce experts say that such a revolution of the U.S. work schedule might not happen any time soon—if at all.
According to a survey run by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek among a sample of 1,500 adults on March 7-8, 71 percent of Americans support the concept of a four-day workweek. Only 4 percent of respondents oppose it, while 22 percent neither support it nor oppose it. Three percent say they don’t know how they feel about it.
These figures reflect the increased support that the concept of a four-day workweek has garnered in recent years, accelerated by the pandemic—a time when many people across the world started reconsidering their work-life balance.
In a push to rethink the way we work, many have questioned whether we should stick to the five-day workweek—introduced by the Ford Motor Company in 1926 in the U.S. and later made into law by Congress in 1940—despite the fact that productivity has massively grown in the past century.
A Newsweek illustration representing a four-day working week. A majority of 71 percent of Americans support the concept of a four-day workweek, according to an exclusive Newsweek poll. Newsweek; Source photo by Getty
While the concept of a four-day workweek first emerged in the 1970s, the idea of working fewer hours while keeping the same salary remained a far-fetched dream for most workers for decades. But now, after the pandemic, the rise of remote work, and the gig economy challenged the 9-to-5 workday, hundreds of companies around the U.S., Canada, Australia, United Arab Emirates, and Europe, among others, have turned this dream into a reality for their employees.
Starting mostly from 2020, several companies around the world have tested the shorter workweek, with the U.K. holding the world’s biggest trial. Since then, many of these companies—including several in the U.S.—have decided not to return to their old routine.
But can the four-day workweek grow from being an experiment to becoming the standard in the U.S.?
The American Experience With the Shorter Workweek
In the U.S. alone, with California leading the way, dozens of companies have experimented with the four-day workweek in the past three years, closely monitoring its impact on workers’ wellbeing, happiness, efficiency, and productivity. Most of them have decided to make it a permanent feature after receiving enthusiastic feedback from employees and seeing positive growth and productivity achievements.
One of these companies was Massachusetts-based Knowledge Futures Group, an independent non-profit created as a partnership between MIT Press and MIT Media Lab. The company ran a 32-hour workweek trial in July 2021, after workers reported feeling “extremely fatigued and unproductive after over a year of working through the pandemic,” a spokesperson for the group told Newsweek.
At the heart of the company’s decision to implement the four-day workweek was the idea of improving workers’ productivity and happiness by taking away “external stressors”—the gnawing concern of when to find the time to tackle the outside-of-work obligations we all have in our lives.
By giving workers an extra day to take care of issues outside of work—like taking their kid or family member to the doctor, bringing the car to the mechanic—Knowledge Futures’ workers were able to be more focused and productive while at work.
This feedback matches the expectations of most Americans surveyed by Newsweek: some 49 percent of respondents to the poll believe that a shorter workweek would make workers more productive, while 83 percent think they could complete their weekly workload in just four days.
Knowledge Futures’ experience with the four-day workweek has been brilliant overall, the company said. “Employees pretty much unequivocally love the shorter week,” a spokesperson for the company told Newsweek.
“We’ve sent a series of surveys to employees since beginning the trial, and have seen durable increases in job satisfaction, work-life balance, connection to coworkers, and self-reported productivity. It’s also been a boon to hiring. We’ve been basically overwhelmed by applicants for every job we’ve posted since advertising ourselves as a four-day workweek company, and the quality of hires we’ve made has been excellent.”
A Deeply Ingrained Culture of Hustling and Busyness
While Americans say they’re ready to embrace the shorter workweek, the country’s work environment might struggle to catch up with their desires. American work culture, with its focus on hard work, competitiveness, and accomplishments, could represent a major obstacle to the introduction of the four-day workweek at a nationwide level, according to experts.
“Americans love to work,” Lindsey Cameron, an assistant professor of management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, told Newsweek.
“Work is the new religion here. And I mean religion in the way that work gives us our sense of meaning, our purpose, our friends, who we date—it’s like the cornerstone of our life in the way that I think the Church used to be the cornerstone of people’s lives maybe 150 years ago,” she said.
Matthew Bidwell, a professor in Wharton’s Management Department who studies career patterns and staffing in the new economy, agreed with Cameron—and said that the importance work has in many people’s lives is something that should be considered in conversations about the shorter workweek.
“Work is very meaningful to a lot of people’s lives, and that’s probably something that gets lost a little bit in these conversations,” he told Newsweek. “I think often there is this feeling of saying, ‘Let’s work as little as we need to, in order to get by’—and there are definitely some people for whom the most important things for them are outside their work.
“But there are a lot of people for whom work is incredibly meaningful and they want to put a decent amount of time into their work, because it is a really important part of their life.”
This has, historically, been particularly true in the U.S.
“In general, the U.S. has a culture that values hard work and long hours, with many employees working more than 40 hours a week,” Mansoor Soomro, senior lecturer at the Teesside University International Business School in the U.K., told Newsweek. “However, there is also growing recognition that overwork can lead to burnout, decreased productivity, and negative health outcomes.”
One way to reconcile the idea of a shorter workweek with the culture of valuing long hours, said Soomro, would be to shift the focus from the number of hours worked to the quality and productivity of work.
“Our research has shown that working long hours does not necessarily equate to increased productivity,” he said. “In fact, multiple studies have found that productivity and creativity tend to decline after a certain point, suggesting that working fewer hours could actually lead to better work outcomes.”
This would ease concerns that, from an economic standpoint, a shorter workweek could negatively impact businesses and the broader economy. “Some argue that reducing the number of workdays could lead to a decrease in productivity and economic growth, while others suggest that increased leisure time could lead to increased spending and stimulate economic activity,” Soomro said.
Bidwell said he’s skeptical that in the long run the shorter workweek could be financially sustainable. While he believes that there are efficiency gains in moving to a four-day workweek, he doesn’t think they would be enough to compensate for the productivity that he’s sure would be lost by working fewer hours. The only way it would work, he thinks, is if people think having more free time is worth being paid less.
“I think there are some trade-offs to the number of days that we work and how much we get paid,” he said. “In the long run, if we move to a four-day work week, we won’t be paid as much, and wage growth will be lower. […] And it’s really unclear whether most people would prefer to work fewer days for less money or more days.”
The Advantage of Office Workers
When considering whether the four-day workweek could become the norm in the U.S., most experts point out that there’s one category for which this would do perfectly: office workers. Hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and medical workers, on the other hand—all professions which require workers to be physically present and for which coverage is essential—would have a much harder time convincing their managers to let them work fewer days, as this would likely mean hiring more personnel to make sure the job is done.
Cameron thinks that the four-day workweek is not a ‘one size fits all’ for all sectors and industries.
“It couldn’t be the norm, there’s too much going on in the U.S.,” she said. “I do think there are pockets of companies for which this will work really well—small to midsize companies that rely on knowledge workers who are actually able to benefit from taking away meetings, or compressing their time. But I also think that a big chunk of the U.S. economy does a different type of work, and they cannot use the four-day work week at all.”
She added: “I think there are certain companies that deal with a lot of knowledge workers, like small tech companies where the CEO/founder is still present in the company, that will be able to make the case for the four-day workweek. It’ll work really well there, but there are just certain segments of society or jobs where I don’t see this working as well.”
Cameron thinks that in jobs that require people to be physically present for long periods of time, a shorter workweek would be an unachievable dream.
“For some jobs that are not knowledge-intensive, that rely on somebody being there, which is basically any sort of lower paid work—that we commonly call ‘lower skilled’ in America even though it’s not lower skilled—they’re just not going to be able to do this,” she said. “I think there are some hospitals in the U.K. that have experimented with putting nurses on six-hour shifts, as opposed to 12-hour shifts—but you then have to add on more labor costs, because you need round-the-clock coverage.”
She added: “I think I’m hesitant that firms in the U.S. that rely on hourly labor would be willing to do that, because they’re already cutting costs so much for hourly labor.”
Cameron thinks that the four-day workweek could be very good for some organizations and some workers, but she also sees that, while it could mitigate inequality among some categories, it could exacerbate it among others. “Moving forward is going to take a plethora of interventions to figure out how we catch as many people as possible in this ‘era of prosperity or abundance’ or whatever we’re trying to work toward a better future. The four-day workweek obviously can’t be the right solution for every type of job,” she said.
But Bidwell sees an opportunity for anyone to introduce the shorter workweek. Those companies and organizations that need serving five days a week, or more, can shift to a sort of “teamworking,” Bidwell said, where “when you’re not around, there are people who are going to cover some of what you’ve done.”
“We can play with different shifts, patterns, different job shares, all of those sorts of things,” he said. “I don’t see that there are particular jobs where this is impossible.”
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