What makes the ideal partner in a relationship? Perhaps someone who shares your values, or someone with a sense of humor, or someone courageous and ambitious. Or someone with a really, really great credit score. Don’t laugh: A new survey shows that lots of people put a heavy emphasis on it (or at least say they do). Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher, Match.com’s chief scientific adviser and a senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute, even called one’s credit score a “Darwinian mechanism for measuring your reproductive ability.” —Megan Hess
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| in turmoil | Trump Struggles to Move Past Bannon With Afghanistan Plan | A week of stinging denouncements from corporate executives, lawmakers and even some conservative activists highlights the challenge President Trump faces in rebounding from his roundly criticized response to an Aug. 12 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is scheduled to address the nation about Afghanistan on Monday at 9:00 pm New York time. His moves will be watched for a sense of whether the presidency, seven months in, can rebound from perhaps its lowest point yet. |
| Here are today's top stories... | | The suspected driver in the deadly Barcelona attack was fatally shot. Regional police said officers shot a man wearing a possible explosives belt in Subirats, a small town 28 miles west of Barcelona, while investigating a "suspicious person" there. A bomb disposal robot was dispatched to approach the suspect, Catalan police said. | | Eclipsed, totally. While expecting relatively normal operations around the country, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration installed four temporary air-traffic "towers" at airports in Oregon and Nebraska that are considered prime spots for viewing the eclipse. Meanwhile, the historic event tested the resilience of the power grid for the first time since the rapid rise of renewable energy. | | A high credit score could make or break your love life. Financial responsibility was ranked as a very or extremely important quality in a potential mate by 69 percent of 2,000 online daters in a new survey. That placed it ahead of sense of humor (67 percent), attractiveness (51 percent), ambition (50 percent), courage (42 percent), and modesty (39 percent). | | How far does $1 million go in retirement? To really stretch it out, head down south. A million lasts 11.9 years in Hawaii and 16.4 years in California, while it lasts 26.3 years in Mississippi. These figures don’t factor in any entertainment or travel, which would make for a pretty grim retirement. They also don’t account for how inflation might cut into purchasing power in the years to come. | | Texting while walking will cost you. It’s such a hazard that last month, Honolulu adopted an ordinance to outlaw smartphone use by pedestrians crossing streets. Now Stamford, Connecticut, may become the second U.S. city this year to combat the problem with fines, like $30 per violation. | |
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