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☆ Is the Met Gala Protest-Proof?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If ever a Met Gala seemed primed to clash with its political moment, it was the 2024 Met. On the one hand, there was the event: the most opulent, extravagant, expensive party of the year, where a single ticket cost a whopping $75,000 — 50 percent more than last year’s ticket and more than $15,000 more than the average American salary. On the other hand, there was a city roiled by student protests over the war in Gaza and rived by the country’s first criminal trial of a former president, and a sponsor (Condé Nast) in a fight with its employees over their union. Even the evening’s dress code seemed to acknowledge the dichotomy: “The Garden of Time,” the title of a J.G. Ballard short story about an aristocratic couple isolated in their mansion as an unruly mob draws ever closer, brandishing sticks and tools and a threat to their way of life.

Persons: Condé Nast, Ballard, “, ” Andrew Bolton Organizations: Institute Locations: Gaza

☆ G7 agrees to shut down coal plants by 2035, UK minister says, in climate breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Angela Dewan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Ministers from the Group of Seven nations have agreed to shut down all their coal plants by 2035 at the latest, a UK minister said on Monday, in a climate policy breakthrough that could influence other countries to do the same. Putting an end date on coal — the most climate-polluting fossil fuel — has been highly controversial at international climate talks. Many of the other G7 nations already have national plans in place to phase out the fossil fuel. “Coal might be the dirtiest, but all fossil fuels need to be ultimately phased out,” he said. Energy, environment and climate ministers are meeting in Turin for talks that are expected to end on Tuesday.

Persons: ” Andrew Bowie, ”, Dave Jones, “ Organizations: CNN, Japan, Department for Energy Security, CNBC, Turing, UK Ministry for Energy, US State Department, Energy, European Union Locations: Italy, COP28, Dubai, France, Canada, United States, Japan, Turin, Germany, United Kingdom, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia

☆ Live Updates: Yale Students Arrested as Campus Chaos Spreads
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

Some reportedly shouted at Jewish students and made antisemitic statements. Still, some Jewish students who are supporting the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus said they felt solidarity, not a sense of danger, even as they denounced the acts of antisemitism. Image Grant Miner, a Jewish graduate student at Columbia University, says he doesn’t feel unsafe on campus. Jewish students get harassed trying to leave @Columbia’s campus tonight. Image At the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the Columbia campus, tents were crowded together Sunday night.

Persons: Eric Adams, ” Andrew Bates, Nemat Shafik, Minouche, “ Al, Adams, Grant Miner, Bing Guan, New York Times “, “, U2Ii5GTuLm — David lederer, @Davidlederer6, ”, Eliana Goldin, Aryeh, . Goldin, Samantha Slater, Shafik, Mr, Miner, ” Makayla, Gubbay, —, “ There’s, ” Ms, Elie Buechler, Rabbi Buechler, Hillel, ” Brian Cohen, Noah Levine, “ I’m, Xavier Westergaard, Sharon Otterman Organizations: Columbia, Jewish, White, New, ”, Columbia University, Credit, New York Times, Palestinian, Israel, University, New York Police Department, Barnard College, Gaza Solidarity, New York Times Students, Ivy League, Campus, “, Hillel, Broadway, Jewish Voice, Peace Locations: Upper Manhattan, New York City, American, Israel, Columbia, Poland, @Columbia’s, Europe, Chabad, Gaza, Palestine, Amsterdam

Days after Columbia University’s president testified before Congress, the atmosphere on campus remained fraught on Sunday, shaken by pro-Palestinian protests that have drawn the attention of the police and the concern of some Jewish students. Over the weekend, the student-led demonstrations on campus also attracted separate, more agitated protests by demonstrators who seemed to be unaffiliated with the university just outside Columbia’s gated campus in Upper Manhattan, which was closed to the public because of the protests. Some of those protests took a dark turn on Saturday evening, leading to the harassment of some Jewish students who were targeted with antisemitic vitriol. The verbal attacks left some of the 5,000 Jewish students at Columbia fearful for their safety on the campus and its vicinity, and even drew condemnation from the White House and Mayor Eric Adams of New York City. “While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable and dangerous,” Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the White House, said in a statement.

Persons: Eric Adams, ” Andrew Bates Organizations: Columbia, White, New Locations: Upper Manhattan, New York City, American

The Republican outrage machine kicked into gear over Easter weekend after President Biden noted that Sunday was being celebrated for more than one reason. International Transgender Day of Visibility is observed every year on March 31. This year, for the second time since Transgender Day of Visibility was established 15 years ago, and the last time until 2086, the two happened to coincide. President Biden publicly honored both of them, as he has done every year since he took office in 2021. He centered the poor,” Mr. Warnock said on CNN on Sunday.

Persons: Biden, Mr, ”, ” Karoline Leavitt, Donald J, Trump, Jesus Christ, Mike Johnson, “, Marsha Blackburn of, Raphael Warnock of, “ Jesus, Warnock, ” Ms, Leavitt, Johnson, ” Andrew Bates, Bates, Bud Light, Biden’s Organizations: Republican, CNN Locations: Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Raphael Warnock of Georgia

☆ Trump says any Jewish person who votes for Democrats ‘hates their religion’ and ‘everything about Israel’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Kate Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Former President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Monday that any Jewish person who votes for Democrats “hates their religion” and hates “everything about Israel,” again playing into an antisemitic trope that Jewish Americans have dual loyalties to the US and to Israel. “I actually think they hate Israel,” Trump said. “I don’t think they hate him, I think they hate Israel. And the Democrat Party hates Israel.”“Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion,” Trump said. While Orthodox Jews lean heavily Republican, American Jews of other denominations, including the Reform and Conservative branches, have identified with or leaned toward the Democratic party.

Persons: Donald Trump, “, ”, Trump, White, Sebastian Gorka, Biden, Chuck Schumer, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ” Trump, Schumer, I’m, Joe Biden’s, ” Andrew Bates, ” Biden, James Singer, Adolf Hitler ‘, Jonathan Greenblatt, Karoline Leavitt, ’, CNN’s Jack Forrest, Nicole Chavez, Morgan Rimmer Organizations: CNN, White House, Israeli, Democrat Party, Israel, Democrats, New York Democrat, White, Defamation League, State, Jewish, Republican Jewish Coalition, American Jewish Committee, Democratic, Republicans, Pew Research, Conservative Locations: Israel, Gaza, America, U.S

☆ Steve Mnuchin breaks out the checkbook
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Mnuchin rebornNine months after President Joe Biden was inaugurated and Mnuchin left the Treasury Building, Mnuchin formed a new private equity group, Liberty Strategic Capital. Steven Mnuchin's private equity firm made a $450 million investment in New York Community Bank last week. When Mnuchin left CIT less than two years later, he received a $10.9 million severance package. “It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok,” Mnuchin told visibly stunned anchors on CNBC Thursday morning. Mnuchin may be the founder and managing partner of Liberty Strategic Capital, but Saudi Arabia is reportedly covering a big chunk of his firm’s tab.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Steven Mnuchin, Mnuchin, Joe Biden, Jackie ”, Trump, Goldman Sachs, ”, Liberty, Steven Mnuchin's, Spencer Platt, “ It’s, ” Mnuchin, “ You’re, ” Andrew Ross Sorkin, ” interjected, TikTok, “, he’s, Will Lanzoni, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Treasury, Liberty Strategic Capital, Lionsgate, New York Community Bank, Getty, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, CIT Group, CIT, CNBC, CNN, Senate, Liberty Strategic, Crown, New York Times, Saudi Public Investment Fund, Meta, ByteDance . Liberty Strategic Locations: New York, cybersecurity, New, California, China, Montana, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, ByteDance

☆ High spirits in Hollywood: What’s behind the boom of celebrity liquor brands?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —Why does actor Aaron Paul co-own a mezcal brand? Rob Kim/Getty Images for NYCWFFIt’s an “opportunity, to be honest,” Cranston told CNN. Celebrities are attractive to the spirits space because of their clout and connections, so the industry has “the door open. Four years later they sold the tequila brand to liquor giant Diageo for $1 billion, and the industry gold rush was on. The side of a Casamigos delivery truck promoting George Clooney and Rande Gerber's tequila brand in a 2015 photo.

Persons: Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston, —, Niro, Issa Rae, Dwayne “, ” Johnson, Matthew, Camila McConaughey, Eva Longoria, Casa Del, Kendall Jenner, Shirley Temple, Warren Beatty, Rob Kim, ” Cranston, George Clooney, Rande Gerber, George Rose, Ryan Reynolds, Conor McGregor, Jose Cuervo, Michael Yanover, Yanover, Jeff Spicer, ” Lisa Hawkins, , Drizly, Dwayne Johnson, Mike Segar, ” Andrew Chrisomalis, Tequila, Ed Mundy, ” Mundy, Sean “ Diddy ” Combs, Combs, Jennifer Lopez’s Delola, Lopez, she’s, Delola, Paul, Cranston, Dos, ” Applebee’s, ” Aaron Paul, CAA’s Yanover, “, There’s, Kylie Jenner, Kendall, It’s, I’ve Organizations: New, New York CNN, Hombres, Hollywood, Dos Hombres, Food Network New York, Food Network New York City Wine, Food Festival, CNN, Diageo, Aviation, UFC, Creative Artists Agency, ”, Reuters, Jefferies, Diddy, New York, New York City Wine, Applebee’s Locations: New York, Casa Del Sol, Food Network New York City, Hollywood, New York City, Iowa, Applebee’s

☆ What to expect in Friday’s jobs report
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —Don’t be surprised if Friday’s jobs report shows that February’s employment gains were far below those reported for January. In fact, it would continue a history-making stretch of labor market expansion. Friday’s jobs report could very well provide a more reliable read on what’s actually happening in the labor market than the jobs reports of recent months’ past, Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told CNN. “And so, February might give us a better understanding of the underlying rate of job growth,” she said. What the other labor market data is showingOther economic data released this week reinforces the idea that the US labor market is cooling but remains on solid footing.

Persons: New York CNN — Don’t, Julia Pollak, autoworkers, what’s, hasn’t, Nixon, ” Ron Hetrick, Gus Faucher, stayers ”, Faucher, ”, ” Nela Richardson, outplacement, ” Andrew Challenger, Lydia Boussour, EY, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, of Labor Statistics, PNC Financial Services, BLS, Labor, Boomers, ADP, Challenger, ”, Labor Department Locations: New York, US

☆ Star dunes: Ancient find helps scientists unravel secrets of mysterious sand structures
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Using radar scans and analysis of sand grains buried deep inside the star dune, scientists mapped the mound’s internal structure. “It’s moving about half a meter per year,” demonstrating that star dunes are about as active as most other dunes, Duller told CNN. A mystery solvedThe new findings also addressed a longstanding mystery for geologists: Where is all the ancient evidence of star dunes? Star dunes are so big; perhaps eroded parts of their preserved structures were previously identified as standalone remnants of other types of dunes, the study authors reported. “The fact that star dunes have not been identified very much in the stratigraphic record may partly be because many geologists were not very much aware of star dunes and only knew about longitudinal dunes and barchans (crescent-shaped dunes),” Goudie said.

Persons: ” Andrew Goudie, Goudie, ”, Geoff, “, Lala Lallia, Charles Bristow, ” Bristow, Chebbi, Charlie Bristow, Bristow, ” Goudie, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, University of Oxford, Aberystwyth University, sedimentology, Birkbeck College, University of London, University of London's Birkbeck, Google, Scientific Locations: Erg Chebbi, Morocco, United Kingdom, Wales, Aberystwyth, Scotland

☆ Stanley cup maker has a plan to make its product launches less chaotic
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

It’s because the Stanley tumbler is arguably one of the most viral products of the moment. So Stanley maker PMI has taken a different approach with its newest limited edition tumbler launch of the much-hyped chocolate and gold Quencher. The new chocolate gold Stanley tumbler. From StanleyOn Tuesday, Stanley unveiled the limited-edition chocolate gold Quencher tumbler on its website. When Target dropped a limited-edition Valentine’s collection of Stanley tumblers in bright pink and cherry red tones in December, the situation wasn’t pretty.

Persons: New York CNN — Stanley, Stanley tumbler, it’s, Stanley, Nike —, ” Andrew Lipp, ”, ” Lipp, William Stanley, Jr, marveled, Stanley tumblers, ” Matt Navarro, Lipp Organizations: New, New York CNN, Stanley, PMI, Nike, CNN, “, Starbucks Locations: New York, Australia

☆ Alabama ruled frozen embryos are children. Here’s what it could mean for embryos frozen across the state
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rumbley, 44, says she has three embryos frozen at a local fertility clinic. The process left three frozen embryos unused. Here’s what we know so far about the possible future of the frozen embryos currently stored in Alabama. Ruling leaves frozen embryos in ‘cryogenic limbo’When Alabama’s top court ruled frozen embryos are legally children and people can be held liable for their destruction, it complicated the options available to families. But the court ruling has left those frozen embryos in “cryogenic limbo.”“It’s gonna be someone’s problem long after I’m gone,” he said.

Persons: Kristia, Dustin Chambers, Andrew Harper, ” Eve Feinberg, Feinberg, Rumbley, ” Rumbley, aren’t, ”, “, Ben Birchall, Seema Mohapatra, CNN “, Mohapatra, hasn’t, ” Lauren Bowerman, CryoFuture –, Steve Marshall’s, Harper, I’m, Bowerman Organizations: CNN, Alabama Supreme, Life Sciences, Reuters, Huntsville Reproductive, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, SMU Dedman School of Law, University of Alabama, Seattle Sperm Bank, Medical Association of, of Locations: Birmingham, Alabama, United States, Birmingham , Alabama, Huntsville, Madison , Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Seattle, of Alabama, Madison, Minnesota

Glenn Youngkin’s policies on the treatment of transgender students and rule that school districts are not required to follow them. But opponents argue that the policies violate the law by codifying discrimination against transgender students. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of two transgender students: one, a high school student in York County, the other, a middle school student in Hanover County. Ralph Northam’s administration were praised by advocates for transgender students, but many school boards did not adopt them. Some school boards with conservative majorities have adopted the policies, while some liberal-leaning school boards, especially in northern Virginia, have resisted.

Persons: Glenn Youngkin’s, Youngkin, ” Andrew Ewalt, Ralph Northam’s, Jason Miyares, Macaulay Porter, Katherine Goff, Chris Whitley Organizations: —, of Education, Republican Gov, Democratic, York, Virginia Department of, Democratic Gov, Department of Education, Republican, York County School Division, Legislative Affairs, Hanover County Public Schools Locations: RICHMOND, Va, Virginia, York County, Hanover County, Hanover

☆ The 2024 Met Gala theme has been announced — along with four superstar co-chairs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Fashion’s biggest night of the year is just around the corner, and the Met Gala red carpet theme has finally been announced — along with superstars Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth as this year’s co-chairs. Florals are sure to abound on this year’s red carpet thanks to the theme “The Garden of Time,” but the novel it takes inspiration from has darker undertones. (Pictured above: Rihanna at the 2023 Met Gala.) “One thing I hope this show will activate is that sensorial appreciation of fashion.”The year’s co-chairs — alongside Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour — include Met Gala mainstays and debuts. The Met Gala theme often vacillates between straightforward retrospectives (such as the event’s 1996 homage to Christian Dior, and the 1997 theme dedicated to Gianni Versace) and more artful, subjective prompts.

Persons: CNN —, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, J, Ballard, Princess Aurora, Rihanna, Dimitrios Kambouris, ” Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu, Anna Wintour —, Hemsworth, Loewe, Jonathan Anderson, Shou Zi Chew, Karl Lagerfeld’s, Christian Dior, Gianni Versace, Count Axel Organizations: CNN, New, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vogue Locations: British

☆ Biden is skipping a Super Bowl interview for the second year in a row. It’s part of a larger media strategy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —President Joe Biden will be sitting on the sidelines this Sunday as the campaign for the 2024 election heats up. Regardless, the Super Bowl snub reflects a larger Biden strategy: The president is leaning far less than his predecessors on the traditional media apparatus to get his message out, opting instead for alternative mediums to address the American people. “We are being less traditional because less people get their news from traditional mediums than ever before,” the Biden campaign official said. Biden’s media strategy has renewed such questions, with critics skewering him for keeping an arm’s length from the establishment press. While the president has regularly engaged in gaggles with the White House press corps, such forums don’t naturally lend themselves to the type of aggressive questioning that might come in a sit-down interview.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, ”, Conan O’Brien, Anderson Cooper, skewering, Scott Pelley, Fareed Zakaria, “, ” Andrew Bates, Martha Kumar, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Frank Sesno —, George Washington, Public Affairs —, ” Sesno, he’s Organizations: New York CNN, White, CBS News, Biden, YouTube, South, “, CNN, White House, CNN White House, George Washington University’s School of Media, Public Affairs Locations: New York, South Carolina

☆ January jobs report: Expect to see strong but slower hiring and an uptick in the unemployment rate
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —The first jobs report for 2024, set to be released at 8:30 am ET Friday, is expected to underscore the strength of the US economy despite 11 rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. That can make the January jobs report among the trickiest to forecast, said Sarah House, a senior economist with Wells Fargo. Friday’s jobs report also will include the final annual benchmark review of payroll data for the 12 months that ended in March 2023. However, excluding January 2023, last month’s job cuts were the highest seen in January since 2009, according to Challenger. US worker productivity grew 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to a BLS report released Thursday.

Persons: Jerome Powell, he’s, Sarah House, Wells, “ We’re, ”, there’s, Boussour, EY, ” Boussour, Daniel Zhao, Zhao, haven’t, ” Andrew Challenger, people’s paychecks, ” Diane Swonk, “, —, Swonk Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Labor, Workers, Challenger, ”, BLS, KPMG, CNN Locations: New York, Wells Fargo, United States

☆ The ‘mainstreaming’ of ‘hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric’ in right-wing media is leading to violence, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

These are the toxic themes espoused in right-wing media, delivered each day through a mix of internet pipelines and broadcasts to millions of homes across the country. It’s part of a larger trend of right-wing violence afflicting the country. And it proliferates on social media platforms, where right-wing extremists maintain a loud presence and boast millions of followers. Rarely will you see a segment about the information crisis on the evening news or delivered prominently via other vessels of mainstream media. The language they use, she said, “winks at,” “nurtures,” and “flirts with violence,” but also offers them just enough “plausible deniability” when things go south.

Persons: Sinister globalists, “, ”, Donald Trump’s, Alex Jones ranted, ” Andrew McCabe, ” McCabe, you’re, ” Luke Baumgartner, ” Baumgartner, ” Juliette Kayyem, Kayyem, ” Kayyem Organizations: New, New York CNN, YouTube, Buffalo, El, El Paso Walmart, U.S . Capitol, Defamation League, ADL, Fox News, Klan, Extremism, George Washington University, Media, Republican Party, Homeland Security, Security, Global Health, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Locations: New York, America, Charlottesville, Charleston, El Paso, today’s America, U.S

☆ Fed Chair Powell says the job market is still strong. Here’s how the numbers break down
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

That can make the January jobs report among the trickiest to forecast, said Sarah House, a senior economist with Wells Fargo. Friday’s jobs report also will include the final annual benchmark review of payroll data for the 12 months that ended in March 2023. Fresh data on job cuts and productivityOn Thursday, the layoff picture became clearer. However, excluding January 2023, last month’s job cuts were the highest seen in January since 2009, according to Challenger. US worker productivity grew 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to a BLS report released Thursday.

Persons: Jerome Powell, he’s, Sarah House, Wells, “ We’re, ”, there’s, Boussour, EY, ” Boussour, Daniel Zhao, Zhao, haven’t, ” Andrew Challenger, people’s paychecks, ” Diane Swonk, “, —, Swonk Organizations: New, New York CNN, of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, Labor, Workers, Challenger, ”, BLS, KPMG, CNN Locations: New York, Wells Fargo, United States

☆ Olympic sponsorship deal with beer company AB InBev criticized as ‘cynical’ and ‘an odd pairing’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In a room crowded with people in suits, the sponsorship deal with brewing giant AB InBev was met with beaming smiles and the clinking of beer bottles by many of those in attendance. AB InBev is the latest company to participate in The Olympic Partner (TOP) program – the highest level of Olympic sponsorship – alongside the likes of Coca-Cola, Visa and Deloitte. AB InBev said that it would not reveal the cost of its deal with the IOC. Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for AB InBevThe IOC and AB InBev see the deal as part of a wider market demand for non-alcoholic drinks which, despite being in circulation for decades, have had a recent surge in popularity. Some brands have found ways to navigate France’s restrictive laws when it comes to alcohol advertising.

Persons: Thomas Bach gushed, ” Bach, ”, ” Andrew Misell, Kin Cheung, Sportcal, Michel Doukeris, Thomas Bach, Stuart C, Wilson, Molson Coors, ” Marcel Marcondes, “ Corona Cero, Marcondes, Bach, Garde, ” Ian Gilmore, “ Corona, ” Alex Barker, ” Barker, Xavier Laine Organizations: CNN, Olympic Committee, InBev, IOC, Corona, Cortina, Alcohol, CNN Sport, Cola, Visa, Deloitte, Health, WHO, Centers for Disease Control, University of Liverpool, ”, Getty, AB InBev, Heineken, Molson, Games, Alcohol Health Alliance, University of Derby, rugby’s, Nations, Guinness, Stade de France, French rugby, Wales, TOP Locations: London, Corona Cero, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Corona, Garde

☆ Amazon and Roomba maker call off acquisition deal, iRobot lays off staff instead
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Amazon and iRobot, the maker of the popular Roomba vacuum, mutually called off their estimated $1.7 billion acquisition deal Monday, citing numerous regulatory hurdles. Amazon (AMZN), which was up about 0.5% in noon trading, will pay iRobot a previously agreed-upon $94 million cancellation fee. IRobot said the restructuring plan, impacting around 350 employees, is intended to save the company up to $150 million. In November, the European Commission said the deal could hamper competition in the robot vacuum sector. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the European Commission planned to block the deal.

Persons: iRobot, Colin Angle, Glen Weinstein, IRobot, “, ” Andrew Miller, iRobot’s, ” David Zapolsky, Lina Khan, ”, Meta Organizations: CNN, European, Federal Trade, European Union, European Commission, Wall Street Journal, Amazon, Federal Trade Commission, Commission, Amazon . Tech, Adobe, EU, UK, Nvidia, UK’s Competition, Markets Authority, Activision Blizzard, CMA Locations: Europe

☆ Winston Churchill’s wartime false teeth are up for sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —A set of Winston Churchill’s false teeth is expected to fetch up to £8,000 ($10,000) when it goes on sale in England next month. Winston Churchill had multiple sets of his upper denture. This set was probably made at the start of World War II, the auction house said, and “must be among the most unusual items we have ever sold,” director Liz Poole added in a statement. Designed by Churchill’s dentist, Wilfred Fish, and made by technician Derek Cudlipp, this set was first put up for sale by Cudlipp’s son, Nigel, in 2010, when it fetched £15,200 (then $23,700). Other pieces of World War II memorabilia will also be on sale at the auction.

Persons: Winston, Churchill, Winston Churchill, Liz Poole, Wilfred Fish, Derek Cudlipp, Cudlipp’s, Nigel, Nigel Cudlipp, ” Andrew Bullock, Keys, “ Organizations: London CNN, Cotswold Auction Company, CNN, Museum, Royal College of Surgeons, Royal Air Force Locations: England, Cheltenham, Aylsham, London

☆ Jobless claims fall to lowest level since 2022, while CEO exits hit new high
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The number of Americans making first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to a level not seen since the fall of 2022, while CEO exits set a new high last year, according to fresh economic data released Thursday. There were an estimated 187,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance during the week that ended January 13, according to Department of Labor data released Thursday. That’s down by 16,000 claims from the week before and marked the lowest level of first-time claims — considered a proxy for layoffs — since September 24, 2022. Weekly claims data can be quite volatile and are frequently revised, and economists caution that some one-off influences — in this case, harsh weather and a new year — could be at play. “Historically, we’ve seen large economic shifts preceded by a surge in CEO exits,” Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.

Persons: —, ” Andrew Challenger, Challenger, ”, “, ” Matthew Martin, Ian Shepherdson, ” Shepherdson Organizations: New, New York CNN, of Labor, Challenger, ”, Oxford Economics, ’, ” Thursday’s Labor Department Locations: New York, US

☆ Opinion: What our obsession with Gypsy Rose Blanchard says about us
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Opinion Sarah Gundle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Sarah Gundle Sarah Gundle, PsyDThese are appropriate questions, when you consider the public fascination with stories about Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was recently released on parole after serving eight and a half years for helping to kill her abusive mother. The revelation drove Gypsy Rose to seek revenge by convincing her boyfriend to murder her mother. Of course, the behavior of Dee Dee Blanchard and Debra McCurdy was beyond the pale, rising to the level of evil. And would Dee Dee Blanchard have been able to stop the train of destruction if someone had more doggedly recognized and confronted her mental illness? Maybe we need to heed the words of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who has said that trying to understand where her mother was coming from “brought me to a place of forgiveness.” Blanchard recently told CNN of her mother: “She was not an evil woman.

Persons: Sarah Gundle, Sarah Gundle Sarah Gundle, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Gypsy Rose Blanchard ”, Blanchard, Claudine “ Dee Dee ” Blanchard, Gypsy Rose, Dee Dee, ”, Jennette McCurdy, McCurdy, “, Debra, Dee Dee Blanchard, Debra McCurdy, —, I’m, ” Andrew Solomon, Rozsika Parker, “ We’re, that’s, Carl Jung, don’t, Dee Dee Blanchards, Debra McCurdys, ” Blanchard, … Organizations: Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical, CNN, Nickelodeon Locations: New York City

☆ Premier League signs $8.45bn TV deal as controversial season continues to excite
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Stunning goals, refereeing howlers and dramatic comebacks: it was another box office weekend in the Premier League, which helps explain why English top-flight soccer has become such a lucrative and appealing product. All three deals will cover a four-year period starting from the 2025/26 season and will see some changes to the current schedule. In total, TNT Sports will show 52 live matches per season under the new agreement, while Sky Sports will show a minimum of 215 games. “It’s hugely exciting to continue to bring fans exclusive Premier League matches for the next five seasons,” Andrew Georgiou, President and MD, UK & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe, said in a statement. Meanwhile, CEO of Sky Group Dana Strong said: “We are proud of our long history with the Premier League and look forward to delivering more engagement, entertainment, and innovation to the end of the decade.”Like CNN, TNT Sports is owned by Warner Bros.

Persons: ”, Richard Masters, “, ” Andrew Georgiou, Dana Strong Organizations: CNN, Premier League, Sky Sports, TNT Sports, BBC, ” Premier League, & Ireland, WBD Sports, Sky, Warner Bros . Locations: WBD Sports Europe

☆ White House Condemns Elon Musk for Spreading ‘Antisemitic and Racist Hate’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Lisa Friedman | Ryan Mac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The White House on Friday denounced Elon Musk for boosting an anti-Jewish conspiracy theory on his social media platform X, calling the actions of Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person, an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.”Mr. Musk endorsed a post on X, formerly Twitter, accusing Jewish people who are facing antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war of pushing the “exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them” and supporting the immigration of “hordes of minorities.”“You have said the actual truth,” Mr. Musk replied to the post. Jewish groups have compared the statement in the original post to a belief known as replacement theory, an antisemitic conspiracy theory that nonwhite immigrants, organized by Jews, intend to replace the white race. That idea fueled Robert Bowers, who raged against Jewish people online before killing 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said in a statement.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Mr, ” Mr, Robert Bowers, ” Andrew Bates Locations: Israel, Pittsburgh

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