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☆ Playing with dogs may help you relax and focus, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —If you decompress by playing with dogs or checking their adorable videos on social media, you might be onto something. Playing with your dog may not just be good for your pet — it could also benefit your emotional health, according to a new study. The authors measured participants’ brain waves, using electroencephalogram tests, or EEGs, for three minutes during each activity. Different activities had varying effects on participants’ brain waves. Grooming, playing and gently massaging the dog was linked with strengthened beta-band oscillation, which is associated with heightened attention and concentration.

Persons: ”, Onyoo Yoo, Yoo, ” Yoo, Colleen Dell, Dell, wasn’t, Tiffany Braley, Garrett, Braley, you’re Organizations: CNN, Goodboy, Wellness, University of Saskatchewan, Neurology, University of Michigan Locations: Seoul, Seongnam, South Korea, Canada

☆ News Outlets Declared Trump the Winner as Iowans Still Caucused
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A mere half-hour of Monday’s Iowa caucuses had elapsed when CNN projected former President Donald J. Trump as the night’s winner. The Associated Press declared Mr. Trump the victor one minute later, and soon every major network had followed suit. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who accused the news media of biasing caucusgoers who had yet to cast their votes. “Are you kidding me?” Representative Chip Roy of Texas told reporters at a DeSantis event in West Des Moines. VoteCast,” its proprietary voter survey system that the outlet said “showed Trump with an insurmountable lead.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, —, Ron DeSantis, biasing caucusgoers, Chip Roy, ” Organizations: CNN, Associated Press, Gov, New York, Trump Locations: Iowa, Florida, Texas, West Des Moines

☆ Mark Zuckerberg can kiss 'Hot Zuck Summer' goodbye. Instagram is now in full crisis mode.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementFor a few weeks in July, an uncanny phrase permeated the air that mildly pained some who typed it: "Hot Zuck Summer." And although "Hot Zuck Summer" might have been a lighthearted take on Zuckerberg, the latest scandal is anything but. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported the disturbing way that sexualized content of children was served to adults through Instagram's Reels. Those accounts were then recommended Reels for adult sexual content and sexualized child content, the Journal reported. "Hot Zuck Summer" has turned into "Instagram Nightmare Fall."

Persons: Instagram, —, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, Frances Haugen, Meta, Sheryl Sandberg, Sandberg, Liza Crenshaw, Adam, Mosseri Organizations: Service, Elon, Street Journal, Canadian Centre for Child Protection, U.S, Walmart, Lean, Business, Meta, Facebook Locations: Massachusetts

☆ Amazon is facing a lawsuit from the FTC and 17 US states. They say it's stifling competition and keeping prices high.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon is facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states. The suit claims Amazon is leveraging its power to inflate prices and overcharge small sellers. The FTC has been gathering evidence for months to show how Amazon disadvantages sellers. Some of the agency's allegations in the Amazon case mirrors those made in a separate lawsuit last year by the state of California. The federal complaint follows other actions the FTC has taken against Amazon in the past few months.

Persons: —, biasing, Lina Khan, Khan, FTC's Khan Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Service, Court, Western, of, Amazon, Institute for Local, Essentials . Booksellers, of Justice, Big Tech, Yale, District of Columbia, Amazon Prime Locations: of Washington, California

☆ Walmart execs say own-brand sales are growing as customers cut spending, and suggest that other brands could put their prices down to compete
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

More shoppers are buying private-label brands at Walmart amid economic uncertainty, execs say. CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC that by keeping prices low, Walmart could push other brands to drop their prices too. "But there is definitely some acceleration to private brands in the last 90 days." In response, Walmart is focusing on its value proposition and making sure it has high-quality private brands, he said. McMillon told CNBC that by keeping its prices low, Walmart could push other brands to drop their prices.

☆ Walmart and Home Depot fire off warnings about the American consumer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Walmart and Home Depot warned that sales growth is likely to slow as shoppers look to save money. Between inflation, rising interest rates, layoffs, and other uncertainties, the stresses on household bank accounts are mounting, which could spell trouble as consumer spending represents roughly 70% of the US economy. "Prices are still high, and there is considerable pressure on the consumer," Walmart CFO John Rainey said. In Home Depot's case, CFO Richard McPhail told analysts: "We've assumed, like many economists, that we will see flat, real economic growth and consumer spending in 2023." We don't know what happens to consumer spending.

☆ Twitter’s New Head of Trust and Safety Says Platform Wants to Move Quickly
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Alexa Corse | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Twitter Inc.’s new head of trust and safety said the platform is emphasizing moving swiftly to address problematic content, even if it means figuring out some specifics later. “For now, I think we are biasing towards moving quickly and figuring out the details in some of these areas after,” said Ella Irwin , who joined Twitter in June and took the top job overseeing user content and safety policies in November.

☆ Twitter hasn't decided if Ye's exile from the platform is permanent, new safety chief says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter's new safety chief told The Wall Street Journal that Ye's return to the platform is uncertain. Since Elon Musk's takeover, it's been unclear how content moderation decisions are made at Twitter. At the time, Musk said that he decided to kick Ye off the site and shared text messages in which he told Ye, "you have gone too far. The notion of policing speech on the platform has vexed Musk, who at one point indicated plans to enlist a "content moderation council" to advise on decisions. Despite that proclamation, Musk brought back former President Donald Trump onto the platform after conducting a Twitter poll, rather than consulting such a council.

☆ As consumer spending rises, Costco remains the discount retailer to own
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But discretionary spending did pick up in other areas, with U.S. shoppers spending more on cars, furniture and restaurant meals. At the same time, quarterly earnings at giant U.S. discount retailers Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) painted a mixed picture. Walmart is a "well-positioned" food retailer because it has "relatively low discretionary exposure," according to analysts at Bank of America. But Target, which is more exposed to discretionary spending, faces "rapidly softening demand," CEO Brian Cornell said Wednesday. Bottom line Consumer spending on staples like food remains strong, while discretionary spending has been mixed, as inflation and other macroeconomic pressures persist.

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