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☆ Your Neighbors Are Retiring in Their 30s. Why Can’t You?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Amy X. Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Even before he really knew what it meant, Allen Wong wanted to be rich. What “rich” seemed to dangle was something simpler, more elementary, more a feeling than anything else: freedom from pain. “I didn’t want to be absent from my family and only show up a few hours each day after work. Wong’s father was ousted from his business, sank into a depression and committed suicide; his mother tripped down a spiral of mental illness. Suddenly, Wong’s entry-level computer programming job was the household’s only source of income, and there was a world financial crisis going on.

Persons: Allen Wong, Wong, “, ”, Wong’s, doggedly Organizations: Lamborghini Locations: Guangzhou, Hong Kong, New York City, Chinatown

He was a model to me of artistic labor and discipline, even if those early paintings were painfully amateurish. The painting followed me from Amherst to my first job in New York, and on to London and Delhi. IT WASN’T MY intention to start an essay about artistic beginnings with a story of artistic death. I’m especially moved by those first moments of validation by which an artist comes out to himself, as it were. It’s this, the inexorability of the correspondence between an artist and the world, that gives those first steps their magical quality.

Persons: Naipaul, Neil Shah, James Wood —, Zack, who’d, ”, Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna, Elders ”, I’m, ” Gustave Flaubert, “, ” Zack, it’s, Bruce Chatwin, Paul Gauguin, Salman Rushdie, Somerset Maugham, Kathryn Bigelow, Philip Glass, Arundhati Roy, Booker, Joseph Conrad, Conrad, Jacques, ” Conrad, brimming, ’, ’ ”, Clarice Lispector, Benjamin Moser, ” Lispector, Maugham, eludes, Jan van Kessel, Elder, — Pieter Bruegel, —, Rebecca West —, “ Black Lamb, J.R, Hammond, Wells, Rebecca West ”, sloughed, Henrik Ibsen’s, Rosmersholm ”, Karan Mahajan, Salman Toor, what’s, ” Hemingway, Anoushka Shankar, Ravi Shankar, Harold Bloom, Ravi, Uday, René Daumal, Rasa ”, ” Anoushka, Norah Jones, Norah, I’ve, “ Raphael, Rachel Cusk, Italy ”, Perugino, Raphael, Cusk, J.M, Samuel Beckett, Gabriel García Márquez, Thomas Pynchon’s, James Joyce, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Marcel Proust’s, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Read, Emma Kehlbeck, Quinton Kamara Organizations: Amherst College, Elders, Fayerweather, ”, Google, Sunday Times, Somerset, Yugoslavia, The, “, . Locations: Delhi, ”, Massachusetts, Italian, Topeka, Kan, Amherst, New York, London, Patagonia, New Delhi, Torrens, Cambridge, Polish, Ukrainian, Brazil, Flemish, Victorian England, “ H.G, Fairfield, United States, “, East, Lahore, Europe, America, Texas, Side, Manhattan, India, Italy

He was a model to me of artistic labor and discipline, even if those early paintings were painfully amateurish. IT WASN’T MY intention to start an essay about artistic beginnings with a story of artistic death. No one captured the massive cultural and economic disparities of my life in Delhi (and his in Lahore) like Toor. But quite unbeknown to me, Toor’s life in New York had opened up a new vein of material. Not everyone who sees a Michelangelo can go off and paint a Michelangelo.”THERE ARE SO many ways to begin.

☆ The Masters: Bruising winds blow a flurry of big names out of ‘borderline unplayable’ Augusta National
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Believe it or not, these are both sound bites from a golf tournament. A storm-delayed first round meant some players had to finish their first 18 holes Friday morning, exacerbating a grueling day. “Even the golf course was saying, ‘Get the hell out of here,’” Homa, chasing his first major, said. South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel clinched a two-shot victory at Augusta National in 2011, but crashed out after shooting 74 and 81. I have a chance to win the golf tournament,” Woods replied when asked by reporters what the milestone means to him.

Persons: Mike Tyson, whisking, toiled, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson –, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm, ” Rahm, “, Sand, Ashley Landis, Max Homa, Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler, Homa, ‘, ”, DeChambeau, LIV, –, I’ve, Scheffler, Jason, Scheffler’s, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark –, Justin Thomas, Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Charl Schwartzel, ” Schwartzel, ” Spieth, Warren Little, Shane Lowry, Akshay Bhatia, “ It’s, ” Ireland’s Lowry, Akshay, ” Bhatia, It’s, Garcia, Tyson, African Erik van Rooyen, Woods, Gary Player, Fred Couples, ” Woods Organizations: CNN, National, Sky Sports, Augusta National Locations: American, Augusta, “, British, African

☆ Ambition Got Me My Dream Job. Then It Nearly Killed Me.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Tanmoy Goswami | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

It's still not easy for me to admit it, but that night I used my pain to feed my professional ambition. In a previous job, burnout nearly killed me, and I vowed to never let ambition swallow me again. There's a fine line between the motivation needed to build a successful career and the uncontrolled ambition that ends in burnout. As I unpacked this predicament in therapy, I began to wonder: How did ambition become such a force in our world? In the ancient world, ambition was seen as a curse.

Persons: I'd, It's, I've, Cicero, Seneca, William Casey King, Virtue, shrewdly, King, don't, They're, wasn't, he'd, Coke, Ambition, —, I'm, Gabor Maté, Mark L, There's, unethically, India's Organizations: Oxford, New York Times, Guardian Locations: hustling, India, New Delhi

☆ Bipartisan Tax Bill Is Stuck in Senate Limbo After Broad House Approval
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Kayla Guo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A bipartisan bill to expand the child tax credit and reinstate a set of business tax breaks has stalled in the Senate after winning overwhelming approval in the House, as Republicans balk at legislation they regard as too generous to low-income families. The delay of the $78 billion tax package has imperiled the measure’s chances and reflects the challenges of passing any major legislation in an election year. Enacting a new tax law would give President Biden and Democrats an achievement to campaign on, something that Republicans may prefer to avoid. The package, which would be in effect through 2025, would expand the child tax credit and restore a set of tax breaks related to business research costs, capital expenses and interest. It would also include a boost to a tax credit encouraging the development of low-income housing, tax relief for disaster victims and tax breaks for Taiwanese workers and companies operating in the United States.

Persons: balk, Biden Organizations: Republican, Senate Locations: United States

☆ Talking to Chatbots Is Now a $200K Job. So I Applied.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Joanna Stern | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Prompt engineering—crafting the sharpest queries to get the best answers out of ChatGPT or another generative AI chatbot—is a new type of job. To find out, WSJ’s Joanna Stern applied to be one. Photo illustration: The Wall Street JournalMy father was a prompt engineer, like his father before him. I come from a long line of people who toiled day and night, chatting with generative-AI chatbots. Prompt engineering is a totally new job that would have sounded crazy even a year ago.

Persons: WSJ’s Joanna Stern

☆ House Republicans Subpoena Biden’s Son and Brother in Impeachment Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Luke Broadwater | More About Luke Broadwater | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

House Republicans on Wednesday issued subpoenas demanding testimony from Hunter and James Biden, the president’s son and brother, as they hunt for evidence to try to build an impeachment case against him. It was the most significant move in the impeachment inquiry since Republicans announced they were opening it in September, despite no evidence that the president had committed high crimes or misdemeanors. Republicans have toiled for months to try to find support for their allegations that Mr. Biden corruptly profited from his family members’ overseas business dealings and accepted bribes. The subpoenas demand that James Biden appear for a deposition on Dec. 6 and Hunter Biden appear a week later. Mr. Walker was summoned to appear on Nov. 29.

Persons: Hunter, James Biden, James R, Comer, Biden’s, Rob Walker, Biden corruptly, Hunter Biden, Walker Organizations: Republicans, Republican Locations: Kentucky

☆ ‘There is no school for girls’: Afghans who fled to Pakistan sent back to a homeland that is foreign to many
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I was born in Pakistan, I’ve lived here for 42 years, I went to school in Pakistan,” said Nasim, who had traveled to the Torkham border crossing from the northern city Peshawar. Nasim, who was born and raised in Pakistan, and is now preparing to return to Afghanistan. International bodies and human rights groups have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster as they return. He hoped the Taliban would greet those forced out of Pakistan and help them find new jobs. The steady deterioration of human rights under the Taliban since its return to power have only confirmed the worst fears of many Afghans.

Persons: I’ve, ”, Nasim, “ I’ve, –, “, ” Nasim, Abdul Basit, Sarfraz Bugti, Ravina Shamdasani, Wakil Kohsar, Ghulam Sakhi, we’ve, Raza Muhammad, ” Muhammad, Akhtar Muhammad, Zahid Bahand, can’t, I’m Organizations: Pakistan CNN, CNN, ”, Getty, Security, Authorities, United Nations, Human Rights, Rights Watch, ” CNN, Interior Ministry, “ Police, UN, International Organization for Migration, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taliban Locations: Chaman, Pakistan, Pakistan’s, Peshawar, Afghanistan, ”, Quetta, “, Soviet, States, AFP, Afghan, Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Balochistan’s, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Kabul

The updates include the addition of memory storage to its developer tools for using AI models. The new features are expected to be rolled out at OpenAI’s first-ever developer conference in San Francisco on November 6, sources said. Keeping developers happy has been a major focus for OpenAI, these sources told Reuters. Earlier this year, the company rushed to release ChatGPT plugins, add-on tools that allow developers to create applications within ChatGPT. Earlier this year, Altman admitted to a group of developers in London that plugins have not gained market traction.

Persons: Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Altman, Musk doesn't, OpenAI, Jasper, ChatGPT, Lakshya Bakshi, Krystal Hu, Anna Tong, Kenneth Li, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Reuters, Elon, Google, Thomson Locations: OpenAI’s, San Francisco, London

☆ Ukraine heads into winter with a hobbled energy system
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine declines to share detailed data on the impact of attacks on its energy system, treating it as sensitive information during wartime. Kyiv School of Economics' research centre estimated the direct damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure at $8.8 billion as of June. Last winter, Ukraine was helped by relatively mild weather, rapid repairs, nuclear power and electricity imports from Europe, but some officials expect tougher conditions this time. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, head of national grid operator Ukrenergo, said the main grid, one of the most damaged parts of the energy system, was ready to transmit winter volumes of electricity. "The energy system is not as reliable and with a smaller reserve capacity than it was before the targeted strikes," he said.

Persons: Marcus Lippold, It's, it's, Andriy Sadovy, Oleksandr Kharchenko, Dmytro Sakharuk, Sakharuk, DTEK, Denys Shmyhal, Shmyhal, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, Oleksiy Chernyshov, Serhiy Sukhomlyn, Julia Payne, Mike Collett, White, Gareth Jones Organizations: United Nations, Kyiv School of Economics, Lviv, Energy Industry Research Center, Reuters, Ukraine's, Naftogaz, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Brussels, Russia, Moscow, Europe, Zhytomyr, Kyiv

☆ AI-Driven Cataclysm Could Rock the Job Market: Top Economist
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +33 min

Over the course of three conversations this summer, Acemoglu told me he's worried we're currently hurtling down a road that will end in catastrophe. "There's a fair likelihood that if we don't do a course correction, we're going to have a truly two-tier system," Acemoglu told me. "I was following the canon of economic models, and in all of these models, technological change is the main mover of GDP per capita and wages," Acemoglu told me. In later empirical work, Acemoglu and Restrepo showed that that was exactly what had happened. "I realize this is a very, very tall order," Acemoglu told me.

Persons: who's, Katya Klinova, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, Acemoglu, Johnson, we've, he's, we're, Power, James Robinson, —, Robinson, David Autor, Pascual Restrepo, Restrepo, John Maynard Keynes, Simon Simard, Lord Byron, Eric Van Den Brulle, hasn't, it's, Gita Gopinath, Paul Romer, Romer, What's, Daron, GPT, Asu Ozdaglar, It's, Mark Madeo, Tattong, Erik Brynjolfsson, Brynjolfsson, There's, Yoshua Bengio, Yuval Noah Harari, Andrew Yang, Elon Musk, I've, That's, Aki Ito Organizations: Getty, MIT, of Technology, Hulton, London School of Economics, Stagecoach, Technology, —, International Monetary Fund, Microsoft, Asu, Companies, Computer, Greenpeace, Communications, Big Tech, Workers Locations: Silicon Valley, America, Boston, Istanbul, Turkey, Acemoglu, England, United States, Britain, Australia

☆ Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Zulu prince who roiled South African politics, dead at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

South Africa's leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Mangosuthu Buthelezi speaks to supporters ahead of the national elections, in Richards Bay, north of Durban, in South Africa, April 19, 2009. REUTERS/Rogan Ward Acquire Licensing RightsSept 9 (Reuters) - Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, has died, the presidency said on Saturday. South Africa's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party described Buthelezi as a "great leader". "Prince Buthelezi was a giant on South Africa's political landscape," DA leader John Steenhuisen said. Critics dubbed Buthelezi a war lord but to his legion of followers in the rural Zulu heartland, he was a visionary.

Persons: Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Rogan Ward, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Prince, KwaPhindangene, Cyril Ramaphosa, Buthelezi, Nelson Mandela, Prince Buthelezi, John Steenhuisen, ANC Buthelezi, Critics, Inkatha, Thabo Mbeki, King Cetshwayo, Henry Kissinger, Peter Carrington, Ashpenaz Nathan Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, Matoli Buthelezi, Princess Constance Magago Dinuzulu, Irene Mzila, Bhargav Acharya, Nelson, Angus MacSwan, Frances Kerry Organizations: Freedom Party, IFP, REUTERS, South, Home Affairs, African National Congress, Zulu Monarch, ANC, Nelson, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Mandela's, Democratic Alliance, Reuters, British, Black University of Fort, ANC Youth League, U.S, Thomson Locations: Richards Bay, Durban, South Africa, KwaZulu, Natal, Zulu, Johannesburg, Black University of Fort Hare, Lesotho, Mahlabathini

☆ Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Zulu Prince Who Roiled South African Politics, Dead at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

(Reuters) -Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, has died, the presidency said on Saturday. Critics dubbed Buthelezi a war lord but to his legion of followers in the rural Zulu heartland, he was a visionary. A Zulu chief, Buthelezi became KwaZulu's chief minister in the 1970s, where he tried a delicate balancing act: refusing outright independence and criticising Pretoria's racial policies while still playing a role in the homeland farce. Ashpenaz Nathan Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi was born on Aug. 27, 1928, in Mahlabathini, the son and heir of Chief Matoli Buthelezi and Princess Constance Magago Dinuzulu. In 1953 he was installed as acting chief of the prominent Buthelezi clan and four years later was confirmed as chief.

Persons: Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Prince, KwaPhindangene, Cyril Ramaphosa, Buthelezi, Nelson Mandela, Critics, Inkatha, Thabo Mbeki, King Cetshwayo, Henry Kissinger, Peter Carrington, Ashpenaz Nathan Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, Matoli Buthelezi, Princess Constance Magago Dinuzulu, Irene Mzila, Bhargav Acharya, Nelson BanyaEditing, Angus MacSwan, Frances Kerry Organizations: Reuters, South, Freedom Party, Home Affairs, African National Congress, Zulu Monarch, IFP, ANC, British, Black University of Fort, ANC Youth League, U.S Locations: KwaZulu, Natal, South Africa, Zulu, Johannesburg, Black University of Fort Hare, Lesotho, Mahlabathini

☆ US Open: Novak Djokovic cruises to final after comfortable win against American Ben Shelton
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Thomas Schlachter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Novak Djokovic cruised through to the US Open final after a dominant 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win against American youngster Ben Shelton. Shelton, playing in his first ever grand slam semifinal, came out all guns blazing but was unable to lay much of a glove on the ever-impressive Djokovic. Being two sets down against Djokovic is a place where no tennis player wants to be and, despite being behind, Shelton will be proud of his efforts in the final set. For Djokvoic, he has now made it to a record-equaling 10th US Open final and he will be looking to win his fourth title at Flushing Meadows in Sunday’s final. He also has the chance to make history and level Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam singles titles.

Persons: CNN — Novak Djokovic, Ben Shelton, Shelton, ” Djokovic, “, Matthew Stockman, Djokovic, Arthur Ashe, ” Shelton, Manu Fernandez, Margaret Court’s, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev Organizations: CNN, US, American, Getty, North, Djokovic, Serbian Locations: North America, American, Flushing Meadows, Sunday’s

History of Labor DayThe first Labor Day occurred in 1882 in New York City under the direction of that city’s Central Labor Union. The New York Tribune’s reporter covering the event felt the entire day was like one long political barbecue, with “rather dull speeches.”Why was Labor Day invented? Common misconceptionsThe common misconception is that since Labor Day is a national holiday, everyone gets the day off. It became a national holiday in June 1894 when President Grover Cleveland signed the Labor Day bill into law. Because not everyone is given time off on Labor Day, union workers as recently as the 1930s were being urged to stage one-day strikes if their employer refused to give them the day off.

Persons: Jay L, Zagorsky, Grover Cleveland, Obama, “, ”, Peter J, McGuire, Matthew Maguire, Peter McGuire, Don’t Organizations: Zagorsky Labor, Labor, city’s Central Labor Union, Central Labor Union, AFL, Communist, Marxist, New York, Brotherhood of Carpenters, Machinists Union Locations: U.S, New York City, York, Oregon, Colorado , Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey

☆ Sleeping giants Spain awaken at Women's World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Tuesday, "La Roja" shrugged off that record of underachievement with a rousing 2-1 win over Sweden to reach the final of the Women's World Cup for the first time. Having failed to even qualify for the World Cup until Canada in 2015, Spain have electrified Australia and New Zealand with 17 goals and a lively, attacking game. Their rise has mirrored the revival of European football at a tournament once dominated by the United States. Yet La Rojas' trip to this World Cup final has generated headlines in Spain and sent fans into a frenzy on social media. Spain have momentum on their side, and not only at the World Cup.

Persons: Jorge Vilda, Amanda Perobelli, who’s, La Rojas, Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmati, Salma Paralluelo, Mapi Leon, Vilda, Peter Gerhardsson, Ian Ransom, Robert Birsel Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, World, Rights MELBOURNE, Canada, Sweden, England, Spanish, Liga, Barcelona, League, Spain, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Eden, Auckland , New Zealand, Australia, United States, Sydney, Barcelona, Netherlands, Vilda, Melbourne

☆ Cocaine cartels encroach on Unification Church’s Paraguayan paradise
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Puerto Casado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Many of the runways are on land owned by the Unification Church of South Korea, founded by Rev. The Unification Church is a major power in this unruly region. Byun, the Unification Church lawyer, provided Reuters with an April 2022 document the church sent to Paraguayan anti-narcotics prosecutors, urging an investigation into potential illicit activity. Trouble in paradiseThe alleged drug-running on its land isn’t the only trouble the Unification Church has faced in the Chaco. Byun, the church lawyer, acknowledged the tensions with locals in Puerto Casado but declined to comment on the Myungs or the fire.

Persons: Sun Myung, Michelle Byun, ” Byun, “, Moon, God, ”, Miguel Ángel Servín, Servín, Rodrigo Alvarez, Elva Cáceres, Marco Alcaraz, Cynthia Tarrago, Tarrago, Raimundo Va, Rodrigo Alvarenga Paredes, Byun, Alvarenga, “ Alvarenga, Rodrigo Álvarez, Álvarez, Pedro Juan Caballero, ‘ Lawless, –, Marcelo Pecci, José Carlos Acevedo, ” Acevedo, Pecci, Acevedo, Mario Abdo Benítez, James Laverty, Hak Ja, ” –, Carlos Casado, Anger, Locals, Lorenzo Myung, Martin Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Dora Irrazábal, Irrazábal, Alberto David Gauto, Gauto, Emilio Camacho, Moon’s, Hyun Jin, Preston, Hak, Hyung Jin, Sean, Massimo Introvigne, Sean Moon, Preston Moon, Puerto Casado, Virgilio Chamorro, Gabriel Stargardter, Daniela Desantis, Feilding, Tomas Bravo, John Emerson, Brian Thevenot Organizations: Unification Church of, Rev, Authorities, Reuters, Unification Church, Holy Spirit Association, South Korea’s Unification, Belgian, Sting, South, International Association of Parliamentarians, Peace, U.S . Federal Bureau of Investigation, Colorado Party, Yorker, U.S, Attorney, FBI, Capital Command, PCC, United Nations Office, Drugs, U.S . Drug, Carlos Casado SA, Salesian, Supreme, FARC, Peace Foundation, Center for Studies, New, Iron Ministries, Preston, Tomas Bravo Graphics Locations: Paraguayan, Unification Church of South Korea, SENAD Paraguay, Chaco, Paraguay, Korea, Bolivian, Peruvian, Atlantic, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Europe, Argentine, Manhattan, “, Antwerp, Europe’s, Servín, Asunción, Seoul, New York City, United States, New Jersey, Tarrago, Va, U.S, Byun, Alvarenga, Chile, Ecuador, Colombian, Bolivia, American, South America, America, Puerto Casado, Gauto, Preston, Turin, Italy, Pennsylvania, Puerto

The maker of Tre model electric trucks has decided to make battery electric trucks only to order and focus on hydrogen fuel cell trucks. The company laid off 270 employees in June and liquidated assets of a recently acquired battery maker last month. Nikola forecast third-quarter revenue of $18 million to $28 million, compared with estimates of $34.5 million, according to Visible Alpha. Other electric vehicle (EV) startups also have toiled to ramp up production, meet delivery targets and raise funds as cash reserves dwindled. Separately, Nikola reported a narrower second-quarter loss as lower production of its Tre battery-electric trucks in the April-June period helped keep costs in check.

Persons: Stephen Girsky, Brendan McDermid, Nikola, NKLA.O, Michael Lohscheller, Girsky, Tre, Trevor Milton, Akash Sriram, Abhirup Roy, Will Dunham, Anil D'Silva, Sriraj Kalluvila, David Gregorio Our Organizations: VectolQ, Reuters, of Autonomous Vehicles, REUTERS, U.S, General Motors, Friday's, Nikola, Fisker, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Phoenix, Bengaluru, San Francisco

Nikola's investors on Thursday approved a proposal that will allow the company to issue more shares. The maker of Tre model electric trucks has been trying to pivot to hydrogen fuel cell technology. Nikola forecast third-quarter revenue of $18 million to $28 million, compared with estimates of $34.5 million, according to Visible Alpha. It had cash and cash equivalents of $226.7 million at the end of the second quarter, compared with $441.8 million, a year earlier. The company laid off 270 employees in June and liquidated assets of a recently acquired battery maker last month.

Persons: Stephen Girsky, Brendan McDermid, Nikola, okayed, Michael Lohscheller, Girsky, Tre, Trevor Milton, Akash Sriram, Abhirup Roy, Anil D'Silva, Sriraj Kalluvila, David Gregorio Our Organizations: VectolQ, Reuters, of Autonomous Vehicles, REUTERS, General Motors, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Bengaluru, San Francisco

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File photoAug 4 (Reuters) - Nikola (NKLA.O) on Friday named its fourth CEO in as many years as the electric truck maker navigates a host of challenges including dwindling cash reserves, lingering supply chain snags and a pivot to hydrogen fuel cell technology. The Tre battery-electric trucks maker forecast third-quarter revenue of $18 million to $28 million, compared with estimates of $34.5 million, according to Visible Alpha. Nikola's investors approved a proposal that will allow the truck maker to issue more shares to raise funds. Milton stepped down as CEO in 2020 after short-seller Hindenburg issued a scathing report that labeled Nikola a "fraud." Separately, Nikola reported a narrower second-quarter loss as lower production of its Tre battery-electric trucks in the April-June period helped keep costs in check.

Persons: Stephen Girsky, Brendan McDermid, Nikola, Michael Lohscheller, Trevor Milton, Milton, Hindenburg, Romeo Power, Akash Sriram, Anil D'Silva Organizations: VectolQ, Reuters, of Autonomous Vehicles, REUTERS, General Motors, EV, Lordstown Motors, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Phoenix , Arizona, Bengaluru

☆ DNA of enslaved iron workers illuminates African American history
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A view of the site of the Catoctin Furnace, an iron forge where enslaved people of African descent once worked, in Cunningham Falls State Park in Maryland, U.S., in this undated photograph. The site now also is providing unique insight into African American history thanks to research involving DNA obtained from the remains of 27 individuals buried in a cemetery for enslaved people at Catoctin Furnace. For African American and United States history, revealing these stories and family legacies is important to understanding and acknowledging who we are, where we came from and how we are connected to each other today," Bruwelheide added. Enslaved people of African descent were forced to work in agricultural, industrial and domestic settings in parts of the United States. In a first-of-its-kind analysis, the researchers examined historical DNA alongside genetic testing company 23andMe's personal ancestry database to identify 41,799 Americans related to the 27 individuals, including 2,975 close relatives.

Persons: Aneta, Camp David, Kari Bruwelheide, Bruwelheide, Éadaoin Harney, Andy Kill, enslavers, Kathryn Barca, Barca, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Smithsonian Institution, Democratic, Smithsonian's National, of, United, Workers, Catoctin, Smithsonian, Thomson Locations: Cunningham Falls, Park, Maryland, U.S, Handout, REUTERS WASHINGTON, Camp, Catoctin, West, Central Africa's, Senegal, Gambia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, Americas, Washington, United States, Civil

☆ The Gaps Get Smaller as the World Cup Gets Larger
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Rory Smith | More About Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Given where the journey had started and where it had led, it was no wonder that watching the Philippines win a game at the Women’s World Cup felt as if it defied rational explanation, even to those involved. Now that same team had beaten New Zealand — on home soil, no less — and with the whole world watching. It was impossible to imagine that a team that had been there could ever be here, and vice versa. “Overwhelming, crazy,” said Sarina Bolden, the live-wire forward who had scored her country’s first goal at a World Cup. He started out at “staggering” and went from there, cycling through “miraculous and unbelievable” before landing on “mind-blowing.”

Persons: ”, Sarina Bolden, Alen Stajcic Organizations: Nepal, New Zealand Locations: Philippines

☆ Why Heat Waves Are Deepening China’s Addiction to Coal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Keith Bradsher | More About Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China has an answer to the heat waves now affecting much of the Northern Hemisphere: burn more coal to maintain a stable electricity supply for air-conditioning. Last month, China generated 14 percent more electricity than it did in June 2022, and the whole increase was generated by coal-fired plants. China’s ability to ramp up coal usage in recent weeks is the result of a huge national campaign over the past two years to expand coal mines and build more coal-fired power plants. State media celebrated the industriousness of the 1,000 workers who toiled without vacations this spring to finish one of the world’s largest coal-fired power plants in southeastern China in time for summer. Yet for reasons of energy security and domestic politics, it is doubling down on coal.

Organizations: Northern Locations: China, United States, Europe, Japan

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