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Georgia Republican Donor Sentenced to 15 Years in $76 Million Ponzi Scheme (Mark Walker/New York Times)

30 October 2026 at 04:25

Mark Walker / New York Times:
Georgia Republican Donor Sentenced to 15 Years in $76 Million Ponzi Scheme  —  Federal prosecutors said Edwin Brant Frost IV lured investors with promises of high returns, but used new money to pay earlier investors and fund personal expenses.  —  A high-profile Georgia Republican who ran …

I'm raising two sets of twins in Vietnam. The chaos suits our family.

30 October 2026 at 04:16
A woman with four children on a motorbike in Ho Chi Minch City, Vietnam.
Marissa Goldstein and her husband moved to Vietnam 10 years ago and are raising two sets of twins in Ho Chi Minh City.

Provided by Marissa Goldstein

  • Marissa Goldstein and her husband traveled to Vietnam for work in 2016 and decided to move there soon after.
  • Now, a mother of two sets of twins, Goldstein says her family of six is happily settled in Ho Chi Minh City.
  • The city's low costs and kid-friendly culture make family life easier — though international school fees are high.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marissa Goldstein, a 40-year-old entrepreneur from the Boston area who lives in Ho Chi Minh City. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2016, my husband and I flew to Vietnam with our 1-year-old twins and two bags. We told everyone we'd be back in three months.

Ten years later, we have four kids — two sets of twins — and a life in Ho Chi Minh City that I wouldn't trade. We've taken our kids to about 50 countries and spend summers with our families in Boston, then come back to the chaos of a city we love.

A couple with four kids in Vietnam.
They are raising four kids — two sets of twins — in Ho Chi Minh City.

Provided by Marissa Goldstein

Asia had my heart long before Vietnam

I grew up outside Boston. I studied communications at the University of Maryland, and a trip to Thailand during my junior year abroad was my first taste of Asia. I fell in love.

My husband and I met in high school and married after I graduated. I worked in PR and sales, then got my MBA at Babson College. Around 2015, there was an opportunity to help US companies diversify their supply chains away from China, so we started The Timroon Group, a manufacturing and sourcing company focused on Vietnam.

Being home with two babies overwhelmed me. Even though we had an incredible support system, living with my parents in a six-bedroom house in the suburbs. I quickly realized that staying home wasn't for me.

When traveling, though, I felt unstoppable. We headed to Ho Chi Minh City the day after their first birthday.

A family of six in Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam.
The family travels regularly around Vietnam and the region.

Provided by Marissa Goldstein

Vietnam won me over through my kids

I loved it right away, especially how people treat children. We'd bring the twins to dinners and big brunches, and the staff would take them and play. I felt really safe. Within a month, we had friends from all over the world. Three months turned into 18.

When the twins were 18 months old, we took an overnight train to Sapa in northern Vietnam. Hmong women were selling their textiles, and I decided to start my own travel accessories brand, working with women artisans. On that same trip, we decided to have one more child. Soon after, we found out we were having twins again.

In January 2020, we returned to Boston, where I grew Raffi Nova, my textile accessories brand. But by 2022, my husband's business was picking up, and we had the itch to return to Vietnam.

A family of six at an aiport in Boston.
When she travels back to Boston in the summer, she gets surprised by how expensive things are.

Provided by Marissa Goldstein

Ho Chi Minh City works for a family of 6

We live about 15 minutes from the city center. There are a lot of foreigners living here, several international schools, and everything is within a 10-minute drive.

There are good doctors and hospitals, Michelin Guide-rated street food, French bakeries, and plenty of activities for the kids, from taekwondo to tennis.

The cost of living is much lower, though school and housing add up. Housing in our area ranges from about $1,500 a month for a smaller apartment to around $10,000 for a villa. We're somewhere in between, in a five-bedroom serviced apartment.

We spend about $1,000 a month on groceries, buying fruit and vegetables at the local market, and spending more on meat and imported food. A latte at a cute, bougie café is about $2, so I treat my friends to coffee without thinking twice.

We have a live-out helper who we pay about $900 a month. She cleans, preps groceries, and helps with the kids. Health insurance for our family runs under $10,000 a year.

I get serious sticker shock when I go home in the summer. I take the kids out for bagels, and it's $100 or more.

Schooling is by far our biggest cost. International school fees in the city range from about $8,000 to $30,000 per child per school year. We're at the higher end, but we strongly believe in a good education.

With fees for four kids, we probably spend about the same as we would in the US, where we wouldn't have to pay for school. But there, we wouldn't eat out or travel as much.

Western family on two motor bikes in Vietnam.
Goldstein says she thrives on chaos, so Vietnam is the right pick.

Provided by Marissa Goldstein

Being far away is hard, but travel makes up for it

Both our big families live in the Boston suburbs.

There's also the weather: hot, hotter, and wet. In rainy season, it pours at school pickup every single day, even when you're sure it won't. The upside is that the kids need only one wardrobe all year.

I see Vietnam is our launchpad to the world.

Last spring, we spent a night in the jungle in Phong Nha, home to Vietnam's largest cave. We've been to Thailand about 20 times. Last February, we rented an RV and drove around New Zealand's South Island. On a trip to Sri Lanka, the kids learned to surf, and we stayed at a homestay in the mountains.

Traveling as six is hard. Most hotels don't allow four children in a room, and we can't fit in a regular car. Our best trips have never been at nice resorts. They're homestays, campsites, and RVs.

That's probably why this life suits us. I never wanted to say, "This is the house we'll live in for the next 50 years." Predictability scares me. I thrive in chaos, and with two sets of twins, there's always plenty of it — I wouldn't have it any other way.

Read the original article on Business Insider

The Ninety-Five Theses: The Spark That Ignited the Protestant Reformation

By: Staff
30 October 2026 at 04:05
“The Ninety Five Theses” — the common title to Martin Luther’s “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” — is more widely associated with Luther’s name than anything else he wrote. Luther posted his theses on the castle door at Wittenberg on either October 31 or November 1, 1517. The disputation, which Luther announced... Continue Reading

How Can Heaven Be Better than Earth if We Are Married on Earth but Unmarried in Heaven?

30 October 2026 at 04:04
Whatever we enjoy now will be far greater then. When marriage someday ends, we will agree that God has not subtracted anything, but only added. He has not divided us, but united us in an even deeper way. We will give thanks in that day that God, in His wisdom, determined that our marriages should... Continue Reading

Christian Blogger Samuel Sey Jailed on ICE Hold, Set to Be Deported

30 October 2026 at 04:02
“Immigration isn’t a right; it’s a privilege. It’s a privilege that illegal immigrants think they are entitled to. But America doesn’t owe anything to people born outside of the country—including me. However, if America changes the standards and ends my residency, it would be inconvenient—not unjust.” (Samuel Sey)   Conservative Christian commentator and writer Samuel... Continue Reading

Love for the Church Leads to Love for the Nations

30 October 2026 at 04:01
Our concern for a restoration of a proper ordering of loves should not diminish our love for the world; it is precisely because God loves the world that we may be confident in his concern for our nation, our towns, our churches, our families, and ourselves.   Yet these responsibilities are not mutually exclusive. For... Continue Reading

Murder In Marriage

30 October 2026 at 04:01
All of us ought to approach our thrice holy God with humility and trepidation. The sixth commandment requires more than feeling sorry for the wounds we have made. It calls us to stop inflicting them, and to become, by God’s grace, a life giver instead of a life taker.   The commandment “Do not murder”... Continue Reading

10,000 Digital Guides and the Need for Spiritual Fathers

30 October 2026 at 04:01
Rather than being content with digital and paper guides who cannot love us and whom we cannot imitate, we need spiritual fathers and mothers who love us and live in front of us.   The Guides of Our Digital Corinth Last week I spoke with a young man who attends our young adult ministry. He... Continue Reading

A Word to Blended Families

30 October 2026 at 04:01
We must never assume that every divorce followed the same path or that every blended family is marked by the same sins. Most of all, we must never treat blended families like second-class citizens. They will have unique circumstances, and the details of their journey will vary, but they serve the same God, believe the... Continue Reading

How is God’s Power Made Perfect in Our Weakness? (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

30 October 2026 at 04:01
How is spiritual power released in a person’s life? By accepting the truth that God allows weakness for good in our lives, and by being willing to share about one’s weaknesses with others—instead of pretending that we are strong.   The Lord spoke powerful words to the apostle Paul as he suffered with his painful... Continue Reading

Hurdle hints and answers for October 30, 2026

30 October 2026 at 04:00
Hurdle game on a smartphone

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Pertaining to.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

ABOUT

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Existing.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

ALIVE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A say.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

VOICE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Let's get married!

Hurdle Word 4 answer

HITCH

Final Hurdle hint

Red fruit.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

APPLE

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on October 30, 2026

30 October 2026 at 04:00
An image of a full moon.

The Moon is starting to look a little less full as we move through the Waning Gibbous phase, with the Third Quarter Moon coming up next in the lunar calendar.

What is today's Moon phase?

As of Friday, Oct. 30, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in the Waning Gibbous phase, with 78% of its surface visible.

Tonight, without the use of visual aids you should be able to spot the Tycho Crater, Copernicus Crater, and the Mare Serenitatis. Binoculars will also help you see the Alphonsus Crater, the Clavius Crater, and the Apennine Mountains. And, if you have access to a telescope, you'll also see the Apollo 14 landing spot, the Schiller Crater, and the Caucasus Mountains.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on November 24.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon takes approximately 29.5 days to complete an orbit around Earth, going through a series of phases along the way. Depending on its position relative to Earth and the Sun, the amount of its illuminated surface we can see changes, creating the familiar sequence of crescents, quarter moons and the Full Moon. Once the cycle is complete, the pattern repeats, as explained by NASA.

The eight phases are:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it's not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

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