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☆ Saudi Arabia needs peace in the Middle East for its $500 billion Neom megaproject to succeed
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In March 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia brokered a deal to re-establish diplomatic relations. Related storiesThe US and Saudi Arabia are in the final steps of a new agreement on security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance, Reuters reported last week. Many of Neom's projects aimed at capturing the luxury tourism market are located along the Red Sea coast. Set to open next year, Neom's luxury island resort of Sindalah is advertised as an "exclusive gateway to the stunning Red Sea." Saudi officials are already fighting to combat claims that Neom is facing delays and setbacks.

Persons: —, it's, Israel, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Ulrichsen, Robert Mogielnicki, Mogielnicki, Neom Organizations: Saudi, Service, Neom, New York Times, Reuters, Rice, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Gulf States Institute, Bloomberg, Business Locations: Saudi, Dubai, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Palestinian, Israeli, Red, Jeddah

☆ Elon Musk calls out Boeing's historic first crewed spaceflight, saying SpaceX beat them to the punch years ago
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

SpaceX beat Boeing to the punch, flying NASA astronauts to the space station four years ago for cheaper. NASA astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) conduct suited operations in a Boeing Starliner simulator. AdvertisementThe SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship that accomplished the feat came from the same NASA initiative that's flying Starliner on Monday. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken (left) and Doug Hurley (right) were the first people to fly aboard a private spaceship, SpaceX's Crew Dragon. SpaceXWith each flight, SpaceX has earned money, while Boeing has been sinking more and more funds into Starliner.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Boeing's, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Robert Markowitz, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, bTXWAfxfrh — Elon, Musk, Eric Berger, Cory Huston, Starliner's, Berger, George Nield, Nield, Scrappy SpaceX Organizations: Boeing, SpaceX, NASA, Service, Twitter, International Space Station, ISS, Atlas, Reuters, Department of Defense, Space Transportation Locations: Starliner

☆ Man Behind California Forever, Silicon Valley's City of the Future
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Hugh Langley | Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

He sees California Forever. And if he can't undo the damage, there may never be a California Forever. California Forever may be a subdivision, but it's precisely the kind of subdivision America needs right now. But here's the thing: California Forever may be a subdivision, but it's precisely the kind of subdivision America needs right now. Places like California Forever aren't being opposed by the people who are desperate for a place to live.

Persons: Jan Sramek's, Goldman Sachs, Sramek, Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs, Marc Andreessen —, They've, Christie Hemm, Peter Thiel, Jan Sramek, Jan, Thiel, Goldman, CheatSheet, Sramek's, hadn't, Jonas Rave, who's, —, Guy Saidenberg, Evernote, Marc Andreessen, Jane Jacobs, He's, he'd, Robert Moses, growth.y Christie Hemm, Flannery, Bronson Johnson, David George, Andreessen Horowitz, Marilyn Farley, Farley, Solano County's, Kathleen Threlfall, Bill Mortimore, California Forever's, Jessica Christian, he's, Lyle Lanley, Solano, Sam Houston, weren't, Gabriel Metcalf, You've, John Garamendi, Garamendi, isn't, they'll, latte, Christie, Travis, I've, aren't, They're Organizations: Silicon, California, BI Development, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, Party, Rising Star, Facebook, York, Sramek's, BI Sramek, Google, American, Planners, Sacramento -, Travis Air Force Base, Area, titans, Farmers, councilwoman, California Forever, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Air Force, Flannery Associates, Disney, San Francisco, Vallejo Naval, Historical Museum, Rep, BI, Solano, Sierra, Goldman Locations: San Francisco, It's, Sramek, California, Rio Vista, Solano County, Napa, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, America, London, Zurich, England, Czech Republic, Dřevohostice, York, British, Eastern Europe, Cambridge, Bay Area, Hayes Valley, America's cutest, Atlanta, Phoenix, Copenhagen, Barcelona, New York, Sacramento - San Joaquin, San Francisco Bay, Lake Tahoe, Toledo , Ohio, Silicon, Google's, Toronto, Big Tech, China, Calif, Springfield, Vallejo, He's, Atherton, Foreverville, Fairfield, Austin, Solano, Valley, Europe

☆ While Boeing's passenger planes glitch, NASA is entrusting the company's spaceship with 2 astronauts' lives
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Boeing is about to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time. Still, the FAA, NASA, and other aerospace experts have questioned Boeing's overall safety culture. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams conduct suited operations in the Boeing Starliner simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center. This Crew Flight Test mission is over a decade in the making. He added that those calculations are for a full 210-day mission, while Whilmore's and Williams's test flight lasts just one week.

Persons: —, NASA's Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Robert Markowitz They're, jetliner, AeroSystems, Bill Nelson, Kim Shiflett, George Nield, Bjorn Fehrm, Fehrm, KPIs, Doug Loverro, Baz Ratner, Bill Ingalls, Steve Stich, Nield, We've, Wilmore, Starliner, Whitmore, Williams Organizations: Boeing, NASA, International Space Station, FAA, Service, Defense, Boeing's, International Space, Space Center, ISS, Max, NTSB, AP, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Justice, Atlas, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Space Transportation, New York Times, Leeham, Business, Ethiopian, Ethiopian Airlines, Aerospace, Committee, White, Bill Ingalls NASA, US, Spaceflight Locations: Portland, Florida, It's, New Mexico

☆ Opinion: Small-town water systems are global cyber targets. Is your city next?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Opinion Robert M. Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The town of Abernathy also reported a water system hack, and the towns of Lockney and Hale Center said hackers tried to breach their water infrastructure but did not succeed. Unlike how David was ready to take on Goliath, our most vulnerable critical infrastructure systems – including water infrastructure – are ill-prepared. The water attacks we’ve seen so far have not had serious consequences for the people they serve. According to the EPA, 90% of the nation’s community water systems are small, public systems bringing water to 10,000 or fewer customers. If we really want to help water utilities defend against cyber threats, we have to close the resource gap.

Persons: Robert M, Lee Dragos, David, we’ve, –, Iran –, Homeland Security’s Organizations: CNN, Cyber Army, Hale Center, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, FBI, Rehabilitation, Government, Department, Homeland, Infrastructure Security Agency, National Security Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland, Local Locations: Russia, Texas, Muleshoe, Abernathy, Lockney, Aliquippa , Pennsylvania, United States, China, North Korea, Iran, Department of Homeland Security’s State

☆ I'm a 26-year-old software engineer making $75,000, and still dream of becoming a professional e-sports athlete. Here's how I balance work and my gaming endeavors
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andy Collins, a 26-year-old software engineer from Chicago pursuing a professional esports career playing the first-person shooting game Valorant. Being a professional esports competitor wasn't the most well-known or traditional career path at the time. Valorant has only been out for four years, but its professional esports scene is rapidly growing in popularity. Even though I'm playing far fewer hours per day than before — I only spend around four hours after work each day playing other teams and strategizing for my weekly matches — I'm in my best-ever form. Are you a professional esports athlete and want to share your story?

Persons: —, Andy Collins, didn't, would've, Valorant, — you've, DarkZero, Valorant esports, I'm, wasn't, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Robert Morris University ., Valorant's Challengers League, North American, League, —, The Guard, Riot Games, DoorDash, Starbucks, Madison Locations: Chicago, United States, Austin, Valorant, mhall@businessinsider.com

☆ Nobody Saw Andy Kim Coming. That’s What He Was Counting On.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Christopher Maag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A day later, Andy Kim, a little-known Democratic congressman from southern New Jersey, gathered his top advisers for a conference call. Everyone present assumed that Mr. Kim would announce his intention to challenge Mr. Menendez for his Senate seat. And Mr. Kim would need the blessing of political bosses across the state, an especially urgent task in New Jersey, where local party leaders have held enormous sway over primary elections for generations. “You don’t upset a two-term incumbent by flying by the seat of your pants,” Mr. Carroll said. Mr. Kim listened quietly.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Andy Kim, Kim, Menendez, Zack Carroll, Kim’s, Mr, Carroll Organizations: Benz, Congress Locations: New Jersey

☆ Opinion | Can Biden Revive the Fortunes of American Workers?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last week, employees at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted by almost three to one to join the United Automobile Workers. By the numbers, this wasn’t a big deal: It involved only a few thousand workers in an economy that employs almost 160 million people. You can quantify this arc using statistical measures like the Gini coefficient or the ratio of top to bottom incomes. The thing is, that relatively equal society didn’t evolve gradually. Wartime wage and price controls were an equalizing force, but the new equality persisted for decades after those controls were removed.

Persons: Claudia Goldin —, Robert Margo Organizations: Volkswagen, United Automobile Workers Locations: Chattanooga , Tenn, Chattanooga, America

☆ Kabul airport attack exclusive: New evidence challenges the Pentagon’s official account of a horrific incident as the US withdrew from Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | Mick Krever | Mark Baron | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

One told CNN he heard the first large burst of shooting come from where US Marines were standing, near the blast site. This is significantly more than the three “near simultaneous” bursts of gunfire that the Pentagon investigations have claimed occurred. The Supplemental Review found no new evidence of a complex attack, and uncovered no new assertions of outgoing fire post-blast. “They were targeting people,” another, Nazir, 16, told CNN. CNN spoke with about ten Marines anonymously, many of whom described hearing gunfire and feeling under attack from it.

Persons: Hamid, Akhter Gulfam, –, Wakil Koshar, Robert Maher, Sarah Morris, Morris, Maher, Rob Lodewick, ”, “, ” Shogofa Hamidi, Morsal, Nazir, ” Noorullah Zakhel, Read, Sayeed Ahmadi, ” Ahmadi, Ahmadi, Lodewick, Marcus Yam, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, “ You’ve, they’ve, It’s, Taylor Crul, Romel Finley, Finley, Barber, ‘, ” Finley, Christian Sanchez, Sanchez, Staff Mark Milley, Kenneth “ Frank ” McKenzie, Darrell Issa, Nick Paton Walsh, Sandi Sidhu, Julia Hollingsworth, Masoud Popalzai, Sitara Zamani, Abdul Basir Bina, Katie Polglase, Gianluca Mezzofiore Organizations: CNN, United, Pentagon, US, Airport, NATO, US Army Central Command, Getty, Montana State University, University of Southampton, Marines, British Ministry of Defense, U.S . Central Command, AP CNN, “, Los Angeles Times, Marine, ” Marines, Navy, US Air Force, . Air Force, Reuters, US Marines, YouTube, Investigators, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Central Command Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, United States, airport’s, American, British, AFP, Bozeman, England, US, Kabul airport's, U.S, Finland, ”

☆ Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar again in the spotlight fighting the conservative Supreme Court on abortion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For the fourth time since she became the federal government’s top Supreme Court advocate, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar is arguing an abortion-related case. When Prelogar argues before the Supreme Court, she is arguing in front of several alumni of the US Office of the Solicitor General. She also clerked for her current boss, Attorney General Merrick Garland, when he was a DC Circuit judge, before her Supreme Court clerkships. She went on to litigate Supreme Court cases for private firms and worked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Likewise, the abortion case Prelogar argued last month could have significant consequences for federal power.

Persons: Elizabeth Prelogar, Prelogar, Department’s, Biden, ”, Stephanie Toti, she’s, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Kagan, Obama, John Roberts, George H.W, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Roe, ” Prelogar, General Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller’s, Beth Brinkmann, Clinton, Brinkmann, Prelogar’s, Court’s Roe, Wade, –, Roberts, Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, ” Toti, “ That’s Organizations: CNN, Miss Idaho, NPR, Emory University, Harvard Law School, DC Circuit, litigate, The Justice Department, Idaho, Labor, Center for Reproductive Rights, Food and Drug Administration, Justice Department, Republican Locations: Bush, Texas, ” An Idaho, Idaho

☆ Breasts take center stage at Venice Biennale exhibition
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —What is one of the earliest and enduring subjects in art and media — as well as one of the most censored? And these are all themes explored broadly in the exhibition “Breasts,” a robust survey on display at the 60th Venice Bienniale. “It’s very intimate, so it’s perfect for international artists to develop a dialogue with each other,” she said in a video call. “Artists keep going back to it.”“It’s been a wonderful moment to contemplate my own relationship with the meaning of breasts,” she added of the show. Scroll to see artworks from the show, which will run through November 24 at the Palazzo Franchetti.

Persons: they’re, Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Salvador Dalí, Anna Weyant, Chloe Wise, Lakin, Carolina Pasti, “, ”, Bernardino del Signoraccio, Sherman, Jesus, Del, Raphael, Flavio Gianassi, we’ve, Teniqua Crawford, “ It’s, Todd White, Europe Allen Jones, Maggiore Allen Jones, Maggiore Laura Panno, Christopher Bucklow, Tetrarch, Claudia, Schiffer, Christopher Bucklow Giorgio de Chirico, Nudo, Turin Louise Bourgeois Organizations: CNN, Venice Bienniale, Artists, Buchanan Studio, Maggiore Locations: Venice, Europe, Italy

☆ Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg to face his toughest trial yet as Trump criminal case begins
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Gregory Krieg | Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“I’ve done a lot of cases that are considered no-win,” Bragg told CNN at the time, in December 2021. Though Bragg’s ambitions are widely considered to be less lofty than some of his predecessors, the Trump trial will likely write both his political future and legacy. Two months into office, Bragg was confronted by two senior attorneys leading the Trump investigation. When Bragg refused to authorize them to seek an indictment they abruptly and noisily resigned, putting additional pressure on the new district attorney. Trump eventually paid $2 million of his own money to a group of charities, and the foundation was dissolved.

Persons: Alvin Bragg, Donald Trump, “, ” Bragg, you’re, ’, ”, Bragg, indicting Trump, Trump, –, craven, Jim Jordan, Cy Vance Jr, Robert Morgenthau, Morgenthau, Vance, Charles Seymour Whitman, Thomas Dewey, Dewey, Eric Garner, Garner, Trump’s, Michael Cohen –, Stormy Daniels, Cohen, blitzed Bragg, Alina Habba, that’s, ” Trump, “ Alvin, I’m, Eric Adams, Adams, Donald J, Barbara Underwood, Judge Juan Merchan, Daniels Organizations: CNN, Ohio, White, Harvard, of, New, New York Law, Racial, Trump, Republican, Prosecutors, New York, “, New York City, NYPD, Trump Organization, Democratic, Trump Foundation Locations: Harlem, American, New York City, Black, New York, Southern, of New York, America

☆ Stacks of Cash at Menendez Home Were Not From His Bank, Prosecutors Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Tracey Tully | Benjamin Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Senator Robert Menendez was charged last year with corruption after investigators found $486,000 in cash stashed around his house in New Jersey, he offered a simple, “old-fashioned” explanation: It had been his custom to withdraw cash from a personal savings account to keep at home, a habit he learned from his Cuban immigrant parents. But federal prosecutors, in papers filed late Friday, presented fresh details that they suggested undercut Mr. Menendez’s claim. Some of the cash was wrapped in bands showing it had been withdrawn, at least $10,000 at a time, from a bank where Mr. Menendez and his wife “had no known depository account.” This, prosecutors said, indicated “that the money had been provided to them by another person.”

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez’s, Menendez, “, ” Locations: New Jersey

☆ Robert MacNeil, legendary PBS News anchor, dies at age 93
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Longtime broadcast journalist Robert MacNeil, who covered some of the biggest headlines of the 20th century and co-anchored PBS nightly news for two decades, died on Friday, PBS announced. MacNeil “was an incredibly erudite reporter, anchor and writer who raised the bar for serious journalism in America,” Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president of NewsHour Productions, said Friday in a news release. Arriving at PBS in the early 1970’s, MacNeil began a decades-long partnership with fellow journalist Jim Lehrer, according to PBS The two led PBS coverage of the Senate’s Watergate Hearings in 1973. In 1975, the pair co-founded the MacNeil/Lehrer Report, a show that would later become PBS NewsHour. MacNeil sat at the helm alongside Lehrer before leaving in 1995, according to PBS.

Persons: Robert MacNeil, MacNeil “, ” Sharon Percy Rockefeller, Jim Lehrer, MacNeil, John F, Kennedy, Lehrer, WETA, ”, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Longtime, PBS, NewsHour, NBC, WETA, Cuban Missile, MacNeil, Television, Writers ’ Conference Locations: New York, America, Montreal, Canada, Nova Scotia, London, Washington, DC, Dallas, WETA, United States

☆ Robert MacNeil, Earnest News Anchor for PBS, Dies at 93
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Elizabeth Jensen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert MacNeil, the Canadian-born journalist who delivered sober evening newscasts for more than two decades on PBS as the co-anchor of “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report,” later expanded as “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour,” died early Friday in Manhattan. His death, at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, was confirmed by his daughter Alison MacNeil. But he came to reject the flashier style of the commercial American networks, and in 1971 he joined the fledgling Public Broadcasting Service. A pairing with Jim Lehrer in 1973 to cover the Senate Watergate hearings for PBS was unpopular with the operators of many local public stations, who thought the prime-time broadcasts weren’t appropriate evening fare. But the two men’s serious demeanor was a hit with viewers, and the broadcasts won an Emmy Award and eventually launched an enduring collaboration.

Persons: Robert MacNeil, The MacNeil, Lehrer, ”, Lehrer NewsHour, Alison MacNeil, Mr, MacNeil, John F, Kennedy, Jim Lehrer Organizations: PBS, – Presbyterian Hospital, NBC News, Public Broadcasting Service, BBC Locations: Canadian, Manhattan, Dallas

☆ Modelo maker Constellation's upbeat forecast should send the stock to new highs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Constellation Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings Thursday, driven by strength in its beer business that more than offset continued weakness in wines and spirits. Management's upbeat forecast for fiscal year 2025 should send the stock to new all-time highs. Constellation Brands Why we own it : We like Constellation Brands for its beer franchise, which includes popular Mexican brands Modelo, Corona and Pacifico. More importantly, the sales gains in the beer business are almost entirely driven by volume gains, not higher prices. Management cited Circana channel data as evidence that its beer business outperformed the total U.S. beer category and remained the top dollar sales share gainer.

Persons: Jim Cramer's, Bill Newlands, Beer, Crawford, Meiomi, Robert Mondavi, Jim Cramer, Jim, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Constellation Brands, Modelo, Anheuser, Busch Inbev, Molson Coors, Constellation, Modelo Especial, Corona, Pacifico, Management, High, Woodbridge, Lumina, Enterprise, CNBC Locations: Corona, Pacifico, STZ, Pacific, San Rafael , California

A photo taken by Abdallah Dalee in the early hours of February 29 shows a crowd of people waiting by firelight for the aid trucks to cross into northern Gaza. Mark Regev, the Israeli prime minister’s special adviser, initially told CNN that Israeli forces had not been involved. “Most of the people that were killed were rammed by the aid trucks during the chaos and while trying to escape the Israeli gunfire,” Al Za’anoun said. The footage shows hundreds of people gathering around aid trucks on Al Rashid Street. People mourn outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City over one of the Palestinians killed during the aid delivery on February 29.

Persons: Abu Watfa, ” Abu Watfa, ’, ”, Al Rashid, Abdallah Dalee, firelight, Abdallah Dalee Gazan, Mark Regev, Daniel Hagari, Al Za’anoun, ” Al Za’anoun, Rashid, Belal, Robert Maher, Richard Weir, Weir, Al Jazeera, “, Abd Rabu, Hamouda Zamil, Dr, Amjad Aliwa, Georgios Petropoulos, ” Mohammed Ahmed, I’ve, ” Ahmed, Ahmed Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Israel Defense Forces ’, IDF, Montana State University, Human Rights Watch, Al, AFP, Getty, Welfare Trust, Welfare, Ummah Welfare, UN Office, Human Rights Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Israel, Al, United States, Bolton, England, “, Al Nabulsi, Al Kuwaiti

☆ Zimbabwe just introduced a new gold-backed currency in an attempt to fight inflation and wean off the US dollar
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Last week, the country's central bank introduced a new gold-backed currency called Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG, in an attempt to tame price gains that reached a seven-month high of 55% in March. The Zimbabwe dollar — the currency the country most recently used — has tanked 80% this year alone. AdvertisementOn Thursday, Zimbabwe's central bank governor, John Mushayavanhu, said the country has real gold and mineral assets to back up the new ZiG currency. The ZiG started trading on Monday at an exchange rate of 13.56 to the dollar set by the central bank. AdvertisementHowever, moving to the new ZiG currency could solve at least one problem, for a start: a shortage of US coins.

Persons: —, There's, John Mushayavanhu, Mushayavanhu, Hasnain Malik, Tellimer, Robert Mugabe Organizations: Service, Zimbabwe, Business, of America, BBC, New Development Bank, International Monetary Fund Locations: Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe's

☆ The big, month-long rally in commodities is turning these ETFs into winners
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Some equity funds closely tied to those commodities, such as those that invest in gold and silver miners, have soared even more. Five of the six biggest gold ETFs have seen outflows this year, totaling almost $3 billion, according to FactSet. GLD 5Y mountain Gold, and the ETFs that track it, are trading at record highs in early 2024. The fund's holdings include gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Meanwhile, Teucrium has several ETFs focused on agricultural commodities that have climbed over the past month as well, including the the Teucrium Soybean Fund (SOYB) , up over 3%.

Persons: Jake Hanley, Hanley, Robert Minter, Minter, Teucrium Organizations: United States Oil Fund, Hershey Locations: East, Europe

☆ A rare 'Devil Comet' will appear during the 2024 total solar eclipse. Here's how to see the Mt. Everest-sized space rock.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

During the total solar eclipse on April 8th, the fiery green "Devil comet" could be visible too. The timing offers a rare opportunity to simultaneously see a comet and a total solar eclipse. For the first time in 71 years, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, a.k.a the "Mother of Dragons" or "Devil comet," is coming relatively close to the sun. Time will pass quickly, and there are plenty of other spectacular phenomena to watch for during the event, besides the Devil comet. So an eruption during the total solar eclipse would be a spectacular treat if it happened.

Persons: —, Comet 12P, Pons, Brooks, it's, Everest, Juan Lacruz, Robert Massey, Geronimo Villanueva, Pons Brooks, Stuart Atkinson Organizations: Service, Comet, Royal Astronomical Society, Wikimedia Locations: Texas, Maine, Jupiter

☆ A new AI-powered tool could revolutionize how lawmakers are held accountable for insider trading
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewA group of California-based graduate students has developed an AI-powered tool to catch congressional insider trading as soon as possible. Though in its infancy, the program could be a revolutionary way for journalists, researchers, and the general public to hold public officials accountable. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Shah explained that PoliWatch works by feeding its system publicly available congressional stock filings, hearing schedules, committee assignments, and sponsored travel. Congress' thorny trading historyAs Business Insider's far-reaching "Conflicted Congress" investigation found in 2021, lawmakers regularly violate the federal Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act with little consequence.

Persons: —, Mats Dodd, Aditya Shah, Jocelyn Thai, Connor Yen, Dodd, Shah, Robert Maguire, " Maguire, Nancy Pelosi, Alex Wong, PoliWatch Organizations: Service, UC Berkeley, Business, Department of Justice, Citizens, Progress Locations: California, Washington, Congress

☆ New Jersey Ballot Ruling Applies Only to Democratic Race, Judge Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Stefanos Chen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New Jersey moved a step closer last week toward overhauling its unique-in-the-nation election ballots, in a decision that could reshape party politics in the state for years to come. On Saturday, the federal judge who ordered the redesign, in response to a lawsuit filed in February by three Democratic candidates, said in a statement that only the Democratic primary, which includes the race to replace Senator Robert Menendez, would have to use the new ballot. The Republican ballot, he wrote, can stay the same, though he said his order did not prohibit Republican leaders from choosing to alter their party’s ballot. The clarification is the latest twist in a long legal battle in New Jersey to shift the balance of electoral power away from party-backed candidates and open the door for newcomers in both parties. “If this decision holds, it will completely upend New Jersey politics.”

Persons: Robert Menendez, Julia Sass Rubin, “ It’s, Dr, Rubin, ” Organizations: Democratic, Republican, Rutgers University Locations: Jersey, New Jersey, upend New Jersey

☆ Investors are focused 'overwhelmingly' on bitcoin over other cryptocurrencies, BlackRock says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

BlackRock's push into crypto has been expeditious, but it may be hitting the brakes after bitcoin and ether. But Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock's head of digital assets, shut that possibility down at the Bitcoin Investor Day conference last week. He pointed out that bitcoin and ether make up the majority of the crypto market cap – bitcoin at 52% and ether at 16%, according to CoinMarketCap. In addition to bitcoin and ether ETFs, BlackRock is also exploring digital assets through tokenization efforts. "And we have clients who are comfortable and fluent on blockchain infrastructure, interacting with digital assets.

Persons: That's, Robert Mitchnick, Mitchnick, that's, we're, … IBIT, bitcoin, Wall, Larry Fink, CNBC's, it's Organizations: BlackRock, U.S, – Locations: BlackRock

☆ How the Cartels Launder Their Drug Money, According to a Former Agent
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Kyle Desiderio | Ju Shardlow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Robert Mazur tells the full story of his time as a government agent investigating drug-money laundering. Mazur went undercover for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service intelligence division, and the Customs Service. In Operation C-Chase, Mazur successfully infiltrated the Medellín cartel by posing as a wealthy, mob-connected businessman named Robert Musella. At its peak, the Cali cartel is estimated to have produced 80% of the world's cocaine supply. It was controlled by Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, Pacho Herrera, and José Santacruz Londoño.

Persons: Robert Mazur, Mazur, Robert Musella, Pablo Escobar's, Gonzalo Mora, Roberto Alcaino, Robert Baldasare, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, Pacho Herrera, Londoño, Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, B095BKWD8L Read Organizations: US Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Customs Service, New York Times, KYC Locations: Italian American, Cali

☆ Opinion: How my Nigerian grandfather made my Hollywood career possible
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Opinion Uzo Aduba | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

When each of his eight daughters married, instead of taking a dowry, my grandfather took just a single, symbolic dollar from the groom’s family. I think of my grandfather as Women’s History Month ends and contemplate how his break with tradition changed the history of women in my own family. He might even have played a role in helping change the trajectory for women in Nigeria. I also think about my grandfather whenever I cradle my infant daughter, who my husband and I welcomed into the world in November. For millions of women around the world, outsourcing care for their children or other household duties is not an option.

Persons: Aduba, Suzanne “, Warren, Uzo Aduba Robert Maxwell, —, didn’t, ”, JoJo Whilden Organizations: Netflix, United Nations Development Programme, CNN, Nigeria —, UN, UNDP Locations: Nigeria, Orange, United States, Hollywood

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