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☆ When Prison and Mental Illness Amount to a Death Sentence
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Carlos Javier Ortiz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four men in black tactical gear pinned him, his face to the concrete, to cuff his hands behind his back. “I didn’t do anything,” Mr. Johnson moaned as they pressed a shield between his shoulders. Mr. Johnson, 21 and serving a short sentence for gun possession, was in the throes of a mental collapse that had gone largely untreated, but hardly unwatched. But for the previous three weeks, Mr. Johnson, who suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, had refused to eat or take his medication. Most dangerous of all, he had stealthily stopped drinking water, hastening the physical collapse that often accompanies full-scale mental crises.

Persons: Markus Johnson, Mr, Johnson moaned, Johnson Organizations: Danville Correctional Center Locations: Danville, Chicago

☆ The $21 billion influencer industry has gone completely off the rails
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Influencer marketing is booming, and brands spend billions to promote products with a personal touch. But these days, the industry of influencer marketing is completely off the rails. Since 2016, the dollars driving the influencer marketing industry have ballooned from $1.6 billion a year to an estimated $21.1 billion in 2023, according to Influencer Marketing Hub. Marketers, brands, influencers, and platform companies all have opportunities to exploit one another to varying degrees of harm." It's not great for consumersDespite the money flying around, the FTC only provides basic guidelines about disclosure requirements for influencer marketing to protect consumers of their content.

Persons: —, Emily Hund, Hund, David Camp, Michael Jordan, George Foreman, Brooke Shields, Calvin Klein, isn't, It's, Kim Kardashian, influencer Chiara Ferragni, Lindsay Lohan, DJ Khaled, Naomi Campbell, Kardashian, Dylan Mulvaney, Bud Light, Ben Shapiro, Donald Trump Jr, Camp Organizations: Service, Business, Social Media, Harvard Business, CBS News, Nike, Salton, FTC, SEC, Consumer, NBC Locations: influencers, California

☆ I used to write porn scripts. When I channeled my confident, female characters, I overcame my fear of rejection in dating.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Jamie Valentino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I landed a gig writing porn scripts, allowing me to create strong, confident female characters. This self-imposed rule persisted until I found myself viewing the world through a woman's eyes once again — this time through writing porn scripts. I landed a gig writing scripts for pornThe adult-film actor Hazel Grace, also the owner of InMelanin Productions, hired me in 2021 to write entertaining and spicy porn scripts. Writing porn scripts was like role-play for the kind of person I wanted to be — at least when it came to the art of flirtation. I faced my fear of rejection head-onMy job in writing porn scripts manifested as a master class in interacting with hot strangers.

Persons: —, I've, I'm, they've, Hazel Grace, Ivy, I'd Organizations: Service, InMelanin Productions

☆ Dealing with teenage daughters is difficult. Raising mine in the Middle East made it even harder.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewMy husband and I were sitting outside our house in Dubai, ignoring the noise coming from partying teenagers inside. Instead, she was used to being brought back by car to our house after a sleepover at a friend's house. Parents and teenage daughter ballooning over the Yarra Valley in Australia. We packed up and moved to Australia, in order to allow our daughter a sample of "normal life" as a teenager. But that's normal teenage behavior too.

Persons: —, stealthily, It's, Christina, expat, Ulrike Lemmin Organizations: Service, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, Business, Burberry Locations: Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Doha, Qatar, Muscat, Oman, UAE, Yarra, Australia, Melbourne

☆ Opinion | Adelle Waldman’s Journey From Brooklyn Literati to a Big Box Store
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But instead of capitalizing on her sudden stardom, Waldman didn’t publish another novel for more than a decade. “To my surprise, I just didn’t have another idea,” she told me over lunch near her house in the Hudson Valley town of Rhinebeck. Especially after the shock of Donald Trump’s election, she lost interest in exploring the romantic and psychological struggles of the upper middle class. At first, her shift started at 6 a.m.; then management abruptly changed it to two hours earlier. While “Nathaniel P.” had delighted me with its uncanny familiarity, this new novel thrilled me for the opposite reason.

Persons: Adelle, Nathaniel P, Obama, cads, Waldman didn’t, ”, Donald Trump’s, “ I’ve, “ Nathaniel P, Waldman Organizations: Love Affairs, Ivy, Target Locations: York, Brooklyn, Hudson, Rhinebeck

☆ ‘True Detective’ Season 4, Episode 3 Recap: Toxicity
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Scott Tobias | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

An Inupiaq herself, she has been hiding away from her own identity. To be a police officer in Ennis is often to represent the interests of the town’s biggest employer. Navarro and Danvers are not in the business of administering environmental justice or blowing the whistle on polluted groundwater. If there is tension around the mine, they’re the ones squelching protests or arresting activists like Annie for breaking the law. That, inevitably, puts them on one side of a stark racial line.

Persons: Scott Tobias, Annie Kowtok, Annie, Navarro, we’ve, Inupiaq, Danvers Locations: Ennis

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Promoters of a secretive Silicon Valley-backed ballot initiative to build a new city on farmland between Sacramento and San Francisco are releasing more details of their plan as they submit paperwork Wednesday to qualify for the November election. That's why Jan Sramek, CEO and founder of California Forever, and the project's backers are turning to the ballot. California and the San Francisco Bay Area are desperate for more housing, especially affordable homes for teachers, firefighters, police and other municipal workers who make a city run. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesSituated between the Bay Area and the state's capital, Solano County is an attractive location for military contractors, agriculture technology and construction tech companies seeking to innovate, said Gabriel Metcalf, head of planning for California Forever. The plan calls for $400 million to help Solano County residents buy homes in the proposed community.

Persons: stealthily, Jan Sramek, Gabriel Metcalf, Metcalf, Sramek, Laurene Powell Jobs, Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, ”, John Garamendi Organizations: FRANCISCO, —, California, Travis Air Force Base, Solano County —, San, California Forever, LinkedIn, Democratic U.S . Rep, U.S . Air Force Locations: Sacramento, San Francisco, Solano County, Rio Vista, California, San Francisco Bay, Texas, Vallejo, Fairfield, Silicon Valley

☆ US officials helped Cisco sneak a cybersecurity prototype into Ukraine using a plane carrying humanitarian aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cisco created a prototype device that could help keep Ukraine's power grid running this winter. In a covert operation first reported by CNN, the devices were delivered using a US plane carrying humanitarian aid. AdvertisementCisco created cybersecurity prototypes for Ukraine to protect its power grid, but getting them into Ukraine required a bit of subterfuge. US agencies helped sneak the devices into the country, in part by using a US Air Force plane carrying humanitarian aid, according to a new report from CNN. Thanks to the covert operation, the prototypes could help Ukraine keep its power running through another brutal winter of war.

Persons: —, Joe Marshall, Cisco —, isn't, Marshall Organizations: Cisco, CNN, Russian, Service, US Air Force, US Department of Commerce, Pentagon, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce Locations: Ukraine, Rzeszów, Poland, Ukrainian

☆ Our Merch, Ourselves
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Melissa Kirsch | More About Melissa Kirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Why do we buy merch, or shy away from it? What does the merch you wear say about who you are, what you believe in? Carrying the bag in your own city seemed too boosterish, too earnest for a New Yorker, whereas outside the city, the local merch telegraphs your hometown pride and N.Y.C. Once you leave the place, the merch becomes a souvenir, a nostalgic keepsake. Debating the laws of merch is a diversion, an amusing exercise in questioning our own pieties.

Persons: Spaeny, “ Priscilla, ”, It’s, Hannah, Priscilla, Priscilla Presley, Priscilla ”, Sofia Coppola, ” “, it’s, leashes, I’d, Justin Bieber Organizations: tote, telegraphs, Los Angeles Dodgers, American Locations: rhinestones, New York, Brooklyn, New, L.A

U.S. regulators on Monday sued SolarWinds, a Texas-based technology company whose software was breached in a massive 2020 Russian cyberespionage campaign, for fraud for failing to disclose security deficiencies ahead of the stunning hack. Detected in December 2020, the SolarWinds hack penetrated U.S. government agencies including the Justice and Homeland Security departments, and more than 100 private companies and think tanks. Koch added that “we look forward to defending his reputation and correcting the inaccuracies in the SEC’s complaint." Brown's current title at SolarWinds is chief information security officer. Capitalizing on the supply-chain hack, the Russian cyber operators then stealthily penetrated select targets including about a dozen U.S. government agencies and prominent software and telecommunications providers.

Persons: SolarWinds, Tim Brown, Brown, Alec Koch, Koch, Gurbir S, Grewal, “, ”, Biden, Chad Wolf Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, Justice and Homeland Security, SEC, Fortune, New, Homeland Locations: Texas, Russian, New York, SolarWinds, cyberattacks, Austin , Texas, North America, Europe, Asia

☆ UK confirms plans to regulate crypto industry with formal legislation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The U.K. government on Monday confirmed plans to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, announcing in a consultation paper that it will look to bring in formal legislation for crypto activities by 2024. The government published its response to a consultation paper issued earlier this year, which outlined recommendations on regulating the crypto industry. The government aims to introduce laws for the crypto industry before Parliament by 2024, according to the paper. It is not immediately clear at this stage what U.K. laws on crypto will look like. Numerous bills are going through Congress, but the U.S. is far behind others when it comes to bringing about formal federal laws for the crypto industry.

Persons: Andrew Griffith Organizations: Government Locations: EU, Crypto, U.S

☆ A Ukrainian sniper called the Ghost of Bakhmut says he's personally killed 113 Russians. He explains how his elite unit hunts the enemy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

An elite Ukrainian sniper unit called the Ghosts of Bakhmut is hunting high-value Russian targets. AdvertisementAdvertisementOn the outskirts of Bakhmut, a deadly team of snipers move stealthily through the forests and fields to take out Russian targets. The Ukrainian sniper's primary weapon is the US-made Barrett M107A1The team of elite snipers take out high-value Russian targets. Insider made contact with Ghost via the Separate Presidential Brigade, which his sniper unit is a part of. AdvertisementAdvertisementHe used to be known as Casper, and said he got the call sign Ghost when Russia invaded the country in February 2022.

Persons: Ghost, —, he's, Bakhmut —, Barrett M107A1, American Barrett M107A1, Barrett, Wagner, Lola, Casper, Casper — Organizations: Service, BBC, Presidential Brigade, Wagner Group Locations: Ukrainian, Bakhmut, US, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, American, Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine's Crimean, Canada, Lithuania

☆ Americans say these 3 things define wealth—none of them require making a lot of money
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | In Kamaronmcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The things Americans say would make them feel wealthy, however, don't necessarily come with a price tag. Wealth means enjoying experiences more than owning nice things according to 70% of Americans, Schwab found. But 70% of Americans say having enough to ease any money stress in their life is more meaningful than having more money than their peers. Once again, earning a higher salary or otherwise having access to more capital may help get rid of your money stress. "Yes, money will give you access to stability, security and resources, but with that money, you need to actually utilize the resources," Evans says.

Persons: Charles Schwab's, Schwab, it's, Aja Evans, Evans Organizations: Wealth Survey, CNBC Locations: Laurel

☆ Spider mite males ‘undress’ their partners to mate ASAP
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Spider mites are tiny arachnids, distant cousins of spiders, smaller than the tip of a standard ballpoint pen. Living together in dense colonies can make for fierce competition in finding a mate, especially because female spider mites only use the sperm from the first male with which they mate. Males will guard females that are nearly mature, so that as soon as the females are set to mate, the males will be ready. While farmers and gardeners often revile spider mites as plant-eating pests, many biologists use them as model organisms. “I hope they are fascinated about what type of sophisticated behaviors have evolved, even in such tiny animals as spider mites,” he said.

Persons: Dr, Peter Schausberger, ”, Schausberger, —, doesn’t, ” Schausberger, Tomasz Klejdysz, Yukie Sato, ” Sato, There’s, that’s, Rebecca Schmidt, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, University of Vienna, University of Tsukuba, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Locations: Japan, Chicago

☆ California Leaders Seek Federal Inquiry of Florida for Migrants Trips
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Shawn Hubler | More About Shawn Hubler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Greg Abbott of Texas, Republicans who have claimed responsibility for sending migrants to Democratic-led states, said the individuals volunteered to travel elsewhere. Democratic leaders, including Mr. Bonta and Mr. Newsom, have in return denounced the relocations as a partisan and callous political stunt. Mr. DeSantis did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the call for a federal investigation. A spokesman for Mr. Newsom said that Mr. Garland’s office had not yet replied to Thursday’s request. Last month, the Florida program paid for two planeloads of Latin American migrants to fly to Sacramento, prompting civil and criminal investigations by the California Justice Department.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott of, Biden’s, Bonta, Newsom, DeSantis, Abbott Organizations: Gov, Republicans, Democratic, Republican, California Justice Department, Mr Locations: Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, California, Idaho, Texas, Sacramento

☆ Taking a Late-in-Life Victory Lap, Thanks to His Novel’s ‘Lunatic Energy’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Plunket was living in a trailer park in Englewood, Fla., with his pug, Meatball, when an email interrupted his life of quiet retirement. “I did feel like an obscure has-been,” Plunket said, “because that’s what I was, technically.”Now, Plunket is relishing his new status as a former has-been. This month, the independent publisher New Directions reissued his novel, “My Search for Warren Harding,” a biting comedy about a scholar who goes to extreme, morally questionable lengths to access letters Warren Harding sent to his mistress. What’s even more unusual about Plunket, and his unlikely return, is how stealthily influential his fiction has been over the decades. His admirers include writers like the novelist Ann Beattie and the journalist Frank Rich, comedians like Amy Sedaris and Larry David.

Persons: Robert Plunket, Meatball, Plunket, ” Plunket, Warren Harding, ”, Danzy Senna, Ann Beattie, Frank Rich, Amy Sedaris, Larry David, Madonna, Ian Organizations: New Locations: Englewood, Fla, New York

☆ US Special Operations Command's workhorse helicopter is getting upgrades to replace parts that are nearly 50 years old
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US special operators rely on their variant, the MH-47, for missions at night and behind enemy lines. As such, the US special-operations community's workhorse helicopter is getting upgrades to replace parts that are nearly 50 years old. US Army Special Operations Command has used Chinooks for several decades. Early versions had modifications for special operations. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, nicknamed "the Night Stalkers," is the cream of the crop when it comes to US military aviation.

Disney alleges that DeSantis tried to "weaponize government power" over the company. It alleges that DeSantis' continued action against Disney "threatens Disney's business operations." Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, alleging that he tried to "weaponize government power" over the company. As retaliation to the Disney executives' pledges, DeSantis took aim at a decades-long provision that gives Disney special self-governing privileges in Florida. Unlike rival parks Universal Studios and Sea World, Disney doesn't have to run their plans by zoning commissions or building-inspection departments.

☆ 'More than 50% chance' China will invade Taiwan in the next 10 years, says former US national security adviser
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China's likelihood of invading Taiwan in the next decade is "more than 50%," Matthew Pottinger said. Pottinger, a US Marine veteran and a former China reporter for Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, worked as deputy national security adviser from September 2019 to January 2021. He was the Trump administration's top adviser on China and North Korea at the time and one of its longest-serving aides. "I suspect that he is going to make this his legacy achievement," Pottinger told The Post. "The CCP should be thought of as a hungry shark that will keep eating until its nose bumps into a metal barrier," Pottinger told congressional leaders.

☆ DeSantis-picked board seeks new taxes and affordable housing at Disney after the company's 'blatant and hostile' grab for control
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

DeSantis' board overseeing Disney is considering new taxes, public transit, and housing. The board met for the first time since Disney's surprise maneuver. The five-member board met Wednesday for the first since Disney stealthily arranged a deal that would allow the theme park and resort to maintain control of its land, virtually in perpetuity. Much of the meeting made the legal case for the new board moving ahead, despite the maneuver Disney pulled last month. Firefighters who work for Disney's district said the previous board failed to give them the resources they needed to do their jobs, including new ambulances, even as Disney grew.

☆ The Florida legislature swoops in to try to help DeSantis wrestle power back from Disney World
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The GOP-controlled legislature introduced an amendment to take away Disney's control over its land. Ron DeSantis seize back control of the board that oversees Walt Disney World's special tax district. The amendment aims to nullify Disney's actions from February, in which the mega-corporation stealthily rendered toothless a board DeSantis appointed to make decisions about its land. At that time, DeSantis said, the group would also work separately to void the Disney loophole that stripped them of their power. Unlike rival parks Universal Studios and Sea World, Disney doesn't have to run their plans by zoning commissions or building-inspection departments.

☆ Putin is so paranoid about being tracked, he travels in a secret grey train that stealthily blends in with other Russian locomotives, says a former elite Russian security officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vladimir Putin rides in a train because planes can be tracked, said an FSO officer who defected. The train is indistinguishable from other Russian trains "for stealth purposes," the officer said. His account aligns with previous reports that Putin secretly travels in trains to avoid being tracked. "Same as all the other Russian Railways trains — grey with a red stripe," he said. Karakulov said his team started equipping the train for Putin's operations in 2014 or 2015, per the Dossier Center.

☆ North Korea's showing off an underwater nuclear attack drone it says can cause a 'radioactive tsunami,' but the threat is likely 'exaggerated'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

North Korea has tested an underwater nuclear attack drone, similar to Russia's Poseidon torpedo. "This nuclear underwater attack drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation," state media boasted. "There have been signs that North Korea has been developing unmanned submarines, but we assess that they are still at an elementary level," South Korea's JCS added. "There are good reasons to maintain skepticism that North Korea will widely produce or deploy the Haeil system," he wrote in an NK Pro analysis. A screen grab shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting nuclear warheads at an undisclosed location in this undated still image used in a video.

☆ North Korea claims it can unleash a 'super-scale radioactive tsunami' with an underwater drone that detonates near ships or ports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea claims it tested an underwater drone that can create a radioactive tsunami. It was designed to strike both naval assets and coastal targets, North Korean state media outlet KCNA reported. Friday's announcement was the first time that North Korea has publicly mentioned such a weapon. North Korea has in the last year aggressively ramped up its testing of long-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles. These tests have often been framed as a response to the US and South Korea for North Korea says is unprovoked aggression.

☆ Britain sets out plans to regulate crypto industry in wake of FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In a widely-anticipated industry consultation launched Tuesday, the government proposed a number of measures aimed at bringing regulation of crypto asset businesses in line with that of traditional financial firms. A big theme that emerged in 2022 was the rise of risky loans made between multiple crypto firms and a lack of due diligence done on the counterparties involved in those transactions. The collapse of FTX has added urgency to global regulators' attempts to govern the regulation-averse crypto space. The regulatory move comes as crypto firms in both the U.K. and beyond are feeling the chill of a deep downturn known as "crypto winter." Global crypto hub ambitionsThe U.K. wants to become a leader in crypto and blockchain technology on the global stage.

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