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☆ Why Silicon Valley Is Going to War Against the Media, Journalists
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Just 20 years ago journalists covered the tech industry "like it didn't matter, like it was this hobbyist, interesting, plucky thing." The pro-tech media gives tech's main characters the chance to write their way back to the original storyline. Trae Stephens, a partner at Founders Fund, described Pirate Wires as a kind of daily affirmation for Silicon Valley. Related storiesTrae Stephens, a partner at Founders Fund, described Pirate Wires as a kind of daily affirmation for Silicon Valley. Of the members of the news media I talked to about pro-tech media, some were backhandedly laudatory.

Persons: Mike Solana, Solana, Peter Thiel, —, David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Friedberg, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump, There's, Coogan, John Coogan, Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, they're, Balaji Srinivasan, Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump's, Tyler Le, Sam Bankman, Warren Buffett, Trae Stephens, Andreessen, Palmer Luckey, It's, Dick Lucas, Lucas, Joe Rogan, Kamala, Stephens, Packy McCormick, Taylor Lorenz, Ryan Mac, Kevin Roose, Jesse Singal —, Casey Newton, Casey isn't, Casey, Newton, Erik Torenberg, Anthony Fauci, Ellen Pao, Katherine Maher, George Soros, Joe Biden, Chesa Boudin, Boudin, Gavin Newsom, Palihapitiya, Sacks, Trump, JD Vance, Brian Merchant, Ben Smith, Eric Newcomer, he's, Lulu Cheng Meservey, Balaji Srinivasan's, Zoë Bernard Organizations: Fund, Tech, Founders Fund, Apple, Elon, Elite, Sequoia Capital, Pirate, Penguin Group, Big Tech, Card Industry, Washington Post, TechCrunch, Media, NPR, Google, Disney, Twitter, Republican National Convention, Bloomberg, monetization, San, Business Locations: San Francisco, Substack, Silicon Valley, New York, Silicon, Solana, Miami, Francisco, California, Los Angeles

☆ A massive tech sell-off and small-cap rally are just getting started. Make 5 investments to avoid missing out.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Small caps should also get a boost from interest rate cuts, which typically translate to disproportionately large gains for the group. That helps confirm what investors are realizing: small caps are the place to be. When large caps sneeze, the market catches a coldThe small-cap breakout has coincided with large technology stocks breaking down. Small caps also tend to have less of an international presence than their larger peers, so they don't miss out as much when converting overseas profits to dollars. The small-cap index is closely tied to economically sensitive parts of the market, which should continue to participate in this rally.

Persons: —, chartmaster, BMO Capital Markets David Keller, who's, Russell, David Keller, StockCharts.com, Keller, you've, he'd, Keller didn't Organizations: Service, Tech, Nvidia, Meta, Business, BMO Capital Markets, BMO Capital, BMO, Therapeutics, Myriad Genetics, Holdings

☆ My partner and I opened our relationship, and I was surprised by how close I became with his girlfriend
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Rachel Krantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She did this by sometimes saying so directly, but also demonstrated it by rarely referencing her relationship with Adam at all. The same unspoken code didn't apply to me, with her making generous references to admiring our "primary relationship." AdvertisementI became close to my partner's girlfriend, LeahWhen it came to everything but the man we "shared," we were almost compulsively forthcoming. We dished about sex (except sex with Adam) in the kind of detail I'd seen on "Sex and the City." It remained easy for me to find dates or sex as a woman in an open relationship.

Persons: Adam, Leah, pragmatically, deferential, I'd, didn't, he'd, wasn't, Rachel Krantz Organizations: Service, Harmony Books, Random, Penguin Random Locations: United States, New York

☆ The Democratic Wishful Thinking About Jill Biden - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Michelle Cottle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Which has me thinking back to one of the viral moments from her husband’s 2020 campaign. On the night of Super Tuesday, as Joe Biden was delivering his celebratory speech at a rally in Los Angeles, two anti-dairy demonstrators rushed the stage, only to run smack up against the protective wall of Dr. Biden. There is an amazing photo of her grimacing and holding a protester at bay by the wrists as Mr. Biden looks on with concern. That is who Dr. Biden is, fiercely and reflexively, when it comes to protecting and supporting her husband. And those looking to recruit her to encourage Mr. Biden to reconsider his presidential bid may sorely misunderstand her — and their marriage.

Persons: Jill Biden, Joe Biden, Dr, Biden, heckler, “ Organizations: Democratic, New Locations: Los Angeles, New Hampshire

☆ Francis Ford Coppola: ‘You Can’t Be an Artist and Be Safe’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The first time that Francis Ford Coppola had a movie in competition at the Cannes Film Festival was in 1967. Coppola made it while he was in film school at the University of California, Los Angeles, and it became his master’s thesis project. A month after the festival, he began directing his first big-budget studio film, “Finian’s Rainbow.” It flopped. He then poured some of his savings into a low-budget studio movie, “The Rain People.” It flopped. Even at Cannes, where the word “art” is used without embarrassment, money keeps an iron grip on both minds and movies.

Persons: Francis Ford Coppola, Coppola, ” Coppola, It’s, Twixt ”, Adam Driver Organizations: Cannes Film, University of California, Cannes Locations: Los Angeles

☆ House Speaker Mike Johnson says Trump right on trade and immigration, but won't commit to policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But as the speaker of the House and the leader of my party in the Congress, I'm going to be very careful about what I commit to on the front end." But I certainly have great respect for what President Trump did," Johnson said during the CNBC appearance. But on immigration, another top issue for Trump, Johnson again pushed back against committing to policy. I mean, I think that's right. Because of redistricting and gerrymandering, we're probably going to have small majorities on one side or the other for the foreseeable future.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Donald Trump, CNBC's Eamon Javers, Johnson, I'm, reflexively, Trump, Joe Biden, Javers, Jay Powell Johnson, Jerome Powell, Powell, they're, It's, we're, who's Organizations: CNBC, Summit, Washington , D.C, Trump, Reagan Republican, Federal Reserve, Capitol, Republican, Committee, Biden Locations: Manhattan, New York, Washington ,, lockstep, China, .

☆ Google employees question execs over 'decline in morale' after blowout earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

"How does leadership plan to address these concerns and regain the trust, morale and cohesion that have been foundational to our company's success?" "Despite the company's stellar performance and record earnings, many Googlers have not received meaningful compensation increases" a top-rated employee question read. Google's use of cashThere were a lot of employee questions ahead of last week's meeting directed at the company's buyback, Porat said. With respect to the decline in morale brought up by employees, Pichai said "leadership has a lot of responsibility here, adding that "it's an iterative process." CNBC reported last week that Google is laying off at least 200 employees from its "Core" organization, which includes key teams and engineering talent.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Loren Elliott, Ruth Porat, We've, Alphabet's, Hollie Adams, Porat, Prabhakar Raghavan, dory, Pichai, Ted, Larry Page, Jim Cramer Organizations: Inc, Government, Society, Bloomberg, Getty, Google, Economic, Finance, CNBC Locations: Stanford , California, Davos, Switzerland, U.S

☆ Tenacious stock market heads into new quarter aiming to show it's not beholden to the Fed's rate plans
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

.SPX YTD mountain S & P 500, YTD Here's a scouting report covering a few relevant themes at play heading into the second quarter. The tenacious tape The behavior of the market itself is perhaps the strongest selling point for a bullish outlook from here. After the S & P has returned 10% or more in a first quarter? The index continued higher the following quarter nine of those 11 and was up the remainder of the year all but once. All but one of the previous episodes saw the market higher nine months later, which in this case would take it through 2024.

Persons: It's, YTD, we've, it's, —, Joe Kalish, Ned Davis, – Organizations: Federal, Ned, Ned Davis Research, Treasury, Fed, JPMorgan, Microsoft, Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Eaton Corp

☆ For Super Bowl advertisers, $7 million for a 30-second spot is just the beginning of an even bigger investment
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Ryan Joe | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

TurboTax is set to run a 45-second ad during the Super Bowl, plus 30-second spots both before and after the game. Investment needs to continue even after the initial airing for the Super Bowl ad to maximize its potential. The company's Super Bowl strategy greatly evolved between those two years. After its 2023 Super Bowl spot that paid homage to the '90s hit movie "Clueless," Rakuten continued to position itself as a fashion marketplace by partnering with New York Fashion Week. Regardless of the risks, Super Bowl advertisers have the opportunity to jolt their business to new heights.

Persons: There's, Todd Allen, Bud Light's, Bud Light, Nick Soukas, TurboTax, Melissa Tifrere, there's, Joe Staples, Ana Dominguez, Grey, Rakuten, Vicki McRae, Rakuten's, McRae, Sofia Colucci, Molson Coors Organizations: Nielsen, Business, Anheuser, Busch InBev, Havas, Lindt, BI, Investment, Super, New York, Super Bowl, EDO, NFL Locations: York, Lindt USA

☆ Tex McIver — an Atlanta attorney sentenced to life — may walk out of prison after admitting he killed his wife
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Christina Maxouris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Behind Diane sat her husband, Claud Lee “Tex” McIver, an attorney with powerful political connections, with a gun in his lap. Claud "Tex" McIver enters the courtroom holding a bible filled with papers before his sentencing at the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta in May 2018. A family photo of Tex McIver and his wife, Diane. “There is no doubt that Tex McIver depended on his wife’s money,” defense attorney Bruce Harvey said in trial. Tex McIver pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his wife, Diane, on Friday, January 26, 2024.

Persons: Dani Jo Carter, Carter, Diane McIver, Diane, Claud Lee “ Tex ” McIver, “ Tex, ” Diane muttered, Claud, Tex, McIver, Alyssa Pointer, Fani Willis, retry McIver, Robert McBurney, McIver’s, –, he’s, Don Samuel, Diane chatted, Tex McIver, ” McIver, Seleta Griffin, Tex McIver’s, Griffin, Diane McIver's, Hyosub Shin, Zuma, ”, Clint Rucker, “, ” Prosecutors, ” Griffin, Bruce Harvey, Prosecutors, court’s, codicil, Adam Abbate, Samuel, Amanda Clark Palmer, CNN’s Jamiel Lynch Organizations: CNN, Ford Expedition, Georgia Supreme, WSB, Atlanta, TNS, ”, Prosecutors Locations: Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia, Fulton County, ” Fulton County, Putnam County, Buckhead, “, –

A Vermont mother wanted to teach her then-14-year-old son a lesson after he came home with electronic cigarettes he stole from a gas station. The teen eventually was injected with a ketamine, a sedative, then taken to a hospital, according to the lawsuit and video. When the two officers arrived to speak to the teen, Austrian told them her son was acting erratically and had a rough week. The lawsuit says the teen “reflexively rose from the bed and flailed his arms haphazardly at the officers." Officers told him to stop spitting, and paramedics, who police called, placed a spit hood over his head.

Persons: Cathy Austrian’s, they'll, Adante Pointer, ”, Pointer, Elijah McClain, Burlington, EMTs, ” Samantha Sheehan, Miro Weinberger, Sheehan, he'd, “ Organizations: The Associated Press, American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, ACLU, Burlington, Associated Press, Burlington Fire Department, Police, Cumberland Farms Locations: Vermont, Burlington, Austrian, San Francisco Bay, Colorado, Cumberland

☆ Moneyball-Plus: What Happens When Investors Treat Athletes Like Startups
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Joseph Bien-Kahn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

What if athletes could sell a percentage of their future earnings to investors, the same way tech entrepreneurs offer a stake in their promising new ideas in return for venture capital? "We look at the game very, very differently than everyone else," Schwimer tells the pitcher. Finlete is launching a fund that allows fans to buy shares in a prospect's future earnings. What if you could sell a share of your future earnings, he asked, for $10,000? Today, he says, more than 80% of the players BLA has invested in are outside the league's top 300 prospects.

Persons: They're, Michael Schwimer, —, Schwimer, BLA, haven't, Fernando Tatis Jr, We've, it's, Daniil, David Liberman, Garrett Broshuis, he'd, He'd, Houdini, Christian Petersen, Erik Kratz, Kratz, Cole Hamels, Hamels, Sean M, Marvin Bush, George W, Bush, Paul DePodesta, bankroll BLA's, Bill Miller, Miller, HBO's, Michael, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, I'd, I'm, Steven Duncker, Goldman Sachs, Elly De La Cruz, Dylan Buell, phenom, Scott Boras, Yermín Mercedes, Francisco Mejía, countersue Mejia, Gervon Dexter, they're, Dexter, Wharton, He's, he'll, isn't, scoffing, he's Organizations: Philadelphia Phillies, Big League, San Diego Padres, Benchmark Capital, Sports, Wharton Sports Business, MLB, University of Virginia, Partners, Phillies, Getty, AAA, Arizona Fall League, Ritz Carlton, Cleveland Browns, Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Big League Advance, Chicago Bears, University of Florida, Huntsman, NCAA Locations: Maryland, Philadelphia, United States, baseball's, Latin America, America, Dominican Republic, Cleveland, Florida

☆ Confessions of a startup founder's wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

I wished I had told Kyle that I would understand if he wanted to quit. That's as apt a description of Kyle's startup as it is of our relationship. I'm not sure Kyle has found as many perks to being a startup founder married to a startup reporter. Now Kyle's startup has pivoted a third time. The truth is, I don't know if Kyle's startup will make it.

Persons: Kyle, Kyle shrugged, pang, I'd, hadn't, Scott Belsky, It's, messier, I've, he'd, Jillian, Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Schulze, TikTok, Josh Cochran, Marc Andreessen, I'm, He'd, Eric Paley, Steve Jobs, —, Playbyte, he's, Rohan Seth, Paul Davison, Steve Huffman, hasn't, Instagram, it's, Zelda, That's, cradling, Melia Russell Organizations: Apple Watch, Steam, Francisco's Mission, University of California, TechCrunch, White House, YouTube, Labor Locations: Champagne, Francisco's, Berkeley, San Francisco, New York, America, Playbyte, Kyle, Boston, Bay, sobs

☆ Democratic Aides in Congress Break With Their Bosses on Israel-Hamas War
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Kayla Guo | More About Kayla Guo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

They have voiced their dissenting opinions in internal meetings and grappled with what to say on calls with constituents. There is typically little tolerance on Capitol Hill for harsh criticism of the Jewish state, which some members of Congress — particularly conservative Republicans — almost reflexively brand as antisemitic. “I can’t think of a similar or comparable effort by staff,” said Mr. Slevin, who has worked in various jobs on Capitol Hill for the better part of a decade. “It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”In the last few weeks, hundreds of staff members have signed on to letters calling on members of Congress to endorse a cease-fire. The health ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, estimates that 11,000 civilians have been killed there over the last month.

Persons: “, ”, Jeremy Slevin, Ilhan Omar, it’s, Republicans —, Adam Jentleson, John Fetterman of, Mr, Fetterman, Jentleson, ” Mr, Slevin Organizations: Minnesota Democrat, Israel, Capitol, Republicans, Democratic, Mr, Jewish Locations: Minnesota, Israel, Gaza, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

☆ Opinion | The Memories That Feed Distrust in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Zeynep Tufekci | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

His pained voice turned to anger when he recounted encountering disbelief that Hamas committed terrible atrocities when it attacked Israel. Indeed, since Hamas did murder children and take others as hostages, should it get credit if it didn’t also behead them? But if the U.S. response after Sept. 11 is a model, it is as a model of what not to do. After the attacks, the United States received deep global sympathy. In the Middle East, the devastating aftermath of that war — justified by false claims — has never ended.

Persons: Moshe Lavi, Lavi, there’s, Biden, didn’t, that’s, ”, Bush, —, Peter Lerner, Saddam Hussein, Saddam, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Hamas, New York Times, United Nations, Britain’s Sky, United, Iraqi Army, The New York Times, Guardian, Israeli Defense Forces, Hamas’s Naval Police, Naval Force, Amnesty International, Kuwaiti, American, Rights, Amnesty, West Bank Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iraq, U.S, United States, Abu Ghraib, People, Israeli, Kuwait, Vietnam, Kuwaiti

☆ How Posters of Kidnapped Israelis Ignited a Firestorm on American Sidewalks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Katherine Rosman | More About Katherine Rosman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

“As a matter of free speech, people who oppose the ‘kidnapped’ posters could erect posters of their own, expressing their views,” Professor Zick said. “I don’t think they’re ripping down posters of ‘Dan Smith Will Teach You Guitar,’” he said. The posters “don’t include Palestinians, so are they concerned about missing people?” he asked. At the corner of Broadway and West 96th Street last weekend, half-ripped posters were covered with small fliers that said: “Why are the posters of kidnapped Israelis being ripped down? With friends and relatives, he has gone door-to-door through the towns of Cedarhurst, Hewlett, Inwood, Lawrence and Woodmere and asked store and restaurant owners to display the “kidnapped” posters inside windows that face the street.

Persons: Nitzan Mintz, ”, “ I’m, Tim Zick, Zick, Mike Mishkin, Mishkin, “ I’ve, they’re, ‘ Dan Smith, ’ ”, Israel, Miles Grant, New York “, “, Grant, ” “, ’ ” Ms, Mintz, Dede Bandaid, Rafael Shimunov, you’re, listserv, Rabbi Amichai Lau, Lavie, Councilwoman Julie Menin, “ Ella Elyakim, Ms, Menin, Guy Tsadik, Woodmere, ” Mr, Tsadik, Alain Delaquérière Organizations: Boston University, The New, William & Mary Law School, Broadway, Twitter, West, Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation Locations: Gaza, Boston, South Florida, Queens, The New York, Manhattan, Williamsburg, Va, New York, Israel, Brooklyn, York, Palestinian, Israeli, Broadway, Long, Cedarhurst, Hewlett, Inwood, Lawrence, New Jersey, Florida

casey newton[CHUCKLES]:: And it would be so funny if the AI actually already was deceptive and was just like, oh, yeah, Kevin, you’ve already figured us out. But I also think it’s part of this sort of undercurrent of the conversation, especially around AI right now. Marc Andreessen — he is clearly so angry at all of the people who criticize technology, technology companies, tech investors. And he is just really, really going after that crowd with this piece. brent sealesYou know I don’t really know.

Persons: kevin roose Casey, casey newton What’s, kevin roose, casey newton, hasn’t, kevin roose I’m, I’m, KEVIN, casey newton Yes, Kevin Roose, ” casey newton, Casey Newton, Marc Andreessen, Casey, we’ve, kevin roose Totally, Claude chatbot, Claude, Anthropic’s, chatbot, Anthropic hadn’t, Anthropic, Kevin, — they’re, roose, Meta, it’s, I’ve, Bard, casey newton It’s, there’s, you’ve, casey newton Yeah, didn’t, Kevin — I’m, it’ll, Kevin —, Andreessen Horowitz, Uncle Marc, ”, “ you’re, Tucker Carlson, Jesus Christ, casey newton Well, kevin roose Oh, he’s, McCarthy, —, Nick Land, casey newton Totally, You’re, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, It’s, Marc Andreessen —, they’re, Nietzschean supermen, Nietzschean, Marc, casey newton Heck, Andreessen, Marc Andreessen decries, Marc Andreessen’s, CASEY, kevin roose That’s, you’re, Nat Friedman, who’s, Daniel Gross, John, Patrick Collison, Toby Lutke, Shopify, Aaron Levie, Brent Seales, — casey newton, There’s, Luke Farritor, ” brent seales, brent seales, that’s, Seales, haters, brent seales That’s, you’ll, casey newton Yep, brent seales —, brent seales We’d, brent seales They’re, They’re, Luke, Brent, brent seales Pliny, Elder, Jesus, brent seales What’s, casey newton Right, we’re Organizations: YouTube, The New York Times, Facebook, Google, Intelligence, America, AIs, Stanford, Communist, Netscape, Fox News, Communist Party, Technology, Venture, Twitter, acc, kevin roose Venture, Companies, Meta, University of Kentucky, British Locations: ”, Anthropic, China, Florida, California, United States, Europe, Romanian, interpretability, Valley, America, Silicon, Silicon Valley, Vesuvius, Rome, Greece, Herculaneum, Venice, Roman

☆ Counting the cost of contagion fears from Africa coups
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Libgeorge Marc Jones | Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Gabon coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema is sworn in as interim president during his swearing-in ceremony, in Libreville, Gabon, September 4, 2023. The putsch not only sent Gabon's bonds tumbling 10%, but also hit those issued by a number of other countries including neighbouring Cameroon, as jittery investors scanned for who might be next. The apparent coup trend is adding to other major concerns deterring many investors from Africa - a wave of debt crises, tense geopolitics and an extreme vulnerability to climate change. "Nearly all markets in that region are paying some price in terms of rising cost of debt," said Sergey Dergachev, portfolio manager at Union Investment. There have been scores of coups and attempted coups in recent decades including in Thailand, Ecuador, Egypt and Turkey.

Persons: General Brice Oligui Nguema, Stringer, Sergey Dergachev, Paul Biya, Macky Sall, Denis Sassou Nguesso, Eamon Aghdasi, Fitch, Moody's, Thailand's, Ravi Bhatia, Bongo, Simon Quijano, Evans, Libby George, Marc Jones, Karin Strohecker, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, UNDP, Union Investment, Investors, Reuters, General Assembly, Burkina, P Global, Reuters Graphics, Monetary Fund, Central, CFA, Peace, Thomson Locations: Gabon, Libreville, Africa Mali, Guinea, Africa, Cameroon, Mali, Thailand, Ecuador, Egypt, Turkey, crackdowns, Senegal, Congo Republic, New York, Niger, Burkina Faso, Kenya

WASHINGTON (AP) — Google will confront a threat to its dominant search engine beginning Tuesday when federal regulators launch an attempt to dismantle its internet empire in the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century. If he decides Google broke the law, another trial will decide what steps should be taken to rein in the Mountain View, California-based company. Political Cartoons View All 1152 ImagesGoogle counters that it faces a wide range of competition despite commanding about 90% of the internet search market. One possibility is that the company could be forced to stop paying Apple and other companies to make Google the default search engine on smartphones and computers. Distracted, the software giant struggled to adapt to the impact of internet search and smartphones.

Persons: Judge Amit Mehta, Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, Eddy, Trump, Microsoft's Bing, Andy Bechtolsheim, Page, Sergey Brin, Justice Department's, litigator Kenneth Dintzer — Organizations: WASHINGTON, Google, Inc, Apple, Justice Department, Firefox, Regulators, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Netscape, Justice Locations: , California, Silicon

The U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has become the internet’s main gateway. That's what happened to Microsoft after its antitrust showdown with the Justice Department: Distracted, the software giant struggled to adapt to the impact of internet search and smartphones. From Google's perspective, the perpetual improvements explain why most people almost reflexively gravitate to its search engine, a habit that long ago made “Googling” synonymous with looking things up. The Justice Department contends Google's claim that it dominates the market by supplying the best search engine is a canard. Google insists that consumers could easily switch their default settings to another search engine.

Persons: Judge Amit Mehta, Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, Eddy, Mehta isn’t, Sergey Brin, Andy Bechtolsheim, Page, Brin, Trump, Microsoft's Bing, Bing Organizations: Washington D.C, Microsoft, U.S, Google, Stanford University, Sun Microsystems, Inc, Apple, Justice Department, U.S . Justice Department, Yelp, Department, Firefox, Regulators Locations: Washington, , California, Silicon, Colorado

☆ Is there a 'right' age for kids to be on social media? 'I certainly don't think anyone under 13' should use it, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

What's the best age for kids to start using social media? Surgeon General Vivek Murphy that social media presents a "profound risk" for the mental health of adolescents and teens. Murphy's warning, which came with recommendations for how the tech industry can revamp social media platforms to make them safer, follows a similar health advisory issued by the APA earlier this month. That's easier said than done, especially when all your kids' friends have social media accounts. "We have no psychological science demonstrating that kids will suffer for not being on social media," Prinstein says.

For now, tech companies seem to view both trust and safety and AI ethics as cost centers. That included all but one member of the company's 17-person AI ethics team, according to Rumman Chowdhury, who served as director of Twitter's machine learning ethics, transparency and accountability team. Chowdhury referenced an initiative in July 2021, when Twitter's AI ethics team led what was billed as the industry's first-ever algorithmic bias bounty competition. Still, sources familiar with the matter said that following the layoffs, the company has fewer people working on misinformation issues. watch nowFor those who've gained expertise in AI ethics, trust and safety and related content moderation, the employment picture looks grim.

☆ ValueAct loses its temper in 7-Eleven
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, May 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - ValueAct Capital’s chief Mason Morfit prefers to chide undervalued conglomerates behind closed doors. In its latest 151-page presentation, ValueAct took its case directly to shareholders, the second time it has seen fit to do so in its history. That highlights the U.S. fund’s frustration from its two-year long campaign calling for Seven & i to spin off its 7-Eleven convenience stores, among other things. That implies a standalone 7-Eleven could be worth 10 trillion yen, roughly a quarter more than its parent today. He may have a point, and in truth ValueAct has far more experience turning around technology companies than food retailers.

☆ Ron DeSantis' memoir could come back to bite him in Disney legal battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Statements in DeSantis' bestselling memoir may hold the proof Disney needs to win its case. Ron DeSantis may have inadvertently handed Disney key evidence it needs to beat him in their escalating legal and political battle. In addition to supporting legislation against Disney, DeSantis has also frequently and fervently railed against the "woke" company. Ron DeSantis is again going after Walt Disney World, after the company launched a stealth power play. Executive Office of the Governor, State of FloridaAs promotion for his memoir, DeSantis also penned a February Wall Street Journal editorial entitled "Why I Stood up to Disney."

CNN —The violence that has exploded in Sudan as the country’s two top generals grapple for power has unfolded at a terrifying, breakneck speed. Hemedti uses this discourse as a bloody shirt to maintain his influence and military forces for future use,” Fareid said. Marwan Ali/APFrom a subclan of the Mahariya Rizeigat tribe, nomadic people that herded camels in Darfur, Hemedti got his start as a commander of the Janjaweed. Unlike Sudan’s former dictator, Hemedti has not faced charges from the International Criminal Court. The general’s shared sense of impunity was underlined in October 2021, when they staged a coup, arresting Hamdok and his cabinet.

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