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☆ Failure of Silicon Valley Bank Mirrors the Myth of the Wild West
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

As Silicon Valley Bank went down the tubes, it wasn't surprising that the loudest mouths in Techworld started demanding that the federal government cover everyone's losses. They were pioneers on the frontier of tech and finance, and as such they acted the way pioneers always do. Myths of the frontiersIt's unfashionable for people in the tech industry to dispute the central role that government-funded infrastructure and academic projects have played in the development of Silicon Valley and the digital age. Shout down into Silicon Valley and you'll hear echoes of this same pioneer myth. They see themselves as heroes not of a Western frontier but of space — the Final one — as refracted by the legendary writers of the Golden Age of Science Fiction.

☆ Wyoming, the first territory in the United States to grant women the right to vote, just became the first state to ban medication abortion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wyoming became the first state to ban abortion pills after a bill became law on Friday. The "Life is a Human Right Act" makes prescribing or selling abortion pills a felony. Wyoming was the first territory in the United States to grant women the right to vote, according to the National Parks Service, after passing a law offering women suffrage in 1869 — before the region even achieved statehood. It now becomes the first state to ban abortion-inducing medications as legal battles play out in Texas and beyond over similar proposed bans elsewhere. Representatives for Gordon, Gray, and Representative Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, who sponsored the "Life is a Human Right Act," did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Exclusive: Colombia's Amazon reserves suffer staffing delays, risking environmental damage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Oliver Griffin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We (permanent staff) are few," an official at one Amazon park, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. As of Friday morning, 22 contracts for personnel for working on the national parks agency's Amazon reserves had been published via Colombia's national contracting agency. Last year, at least 107 contractors had deals for work on Amazon reserves by January, data from the agency seen by Reuters showed. The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro, who took office seven months ago and has pledged to lower deforestation, plans to initially replace annual contracts for national parks workers with four-year. Five would-be park workers told Reuters the delays meant they had been forced to find other jobs.

☆ If you want to balance the budget without raising taxes or cutting defense, Social Security, and Medicare, you'd probably have to fire nearly every park ranger and cut 70% of anti-poverty spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

That is, if tax increases, defense spending, Social Security, and Medicare remain off the table. "The thing is the government has basically three gigantic programs and it's the US military, Social Security, and Medicare," Goldwein said. "The idea we're just going to eliminate all parts of government other than Social Security, Medicare, and defense — it's just not realistic, or desirable," Goldwein said. Meanwhile, Democrats await Republicans' plan to move ahead with a deal to raise the debt ceiling before the US defaults. The hard right demands spending cuts," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on Twitter.

☆ Trump proposes 10 futuristic 'Freedom Cities,' featuring Jetsons-like flying cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former President Donald Trump on Friday shared the broad strokes of an ambitious plan to build 10 new "Freedom Cities" and beat China in the development of flying cars. Another plank of Trump's plan, detailed in a less-than-four-minute video shared by his campaign, is for the federal government to boost investment in flying personal vehicles. "I want to ensure that America, not China, leads this revolution in air mobility," Trump said in the video. Trump's video also teased a "major initiative" to lower the cost of living, with a focus on lowering the costs of buying a car building a single-family home. Days earlier, Trump unveiled a protectionist trade agenda featuring "universal" tariffs aimed to encourage domestic production.

☆ Venezuela’s Oil Industry, Reopening to Investors, Is Major Polluter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Kejal Vyas | Patricia Garip | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Venezuela’s oil industry suffers from maintenance and management problems, a likely challenge for Western companies looking to resume work there. Across Venezuela’s once-thriving oil industry, environmentalists say rusty pipelines and storage tanks routinely leak contaminants into the ground. Frequent spills stain the mangroves of national parks with oil. Refinery explosions in recent years have sent black smoke billowing into the sky. And Venezuela’s national oil company, unable to process the natural gas that is a byproduct of oil production, burns enough each day to supply the state of Georgia.

☆ Want to work from anywhere? These are the top 10 U.S. cities for digital nomads
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

It tops the best U.S. cities for digital nomads, according to a new analysis from Reviews.org, which ranked the country's top 100 metros based on various work and life factors. Austin, Texas, comes in third and is one of three Texas cities that crack the top 10. Here are the top 10 U.S. cities for digital nomads:Atlanta Portland, Oregon Austin, Texas Seattle Phoenix Houston Dallas Chicago Las Vegas San FranciscoReviews.org ranked each city based on several work and life factors. Texas makes a strong showing, with three cities ranking well for digital nomads, buoyed in part by its agreeable weather and low cost of real estate. The two most populated cities in the U.S., meanwhile, don't come close to cracking the top 10 best cities for digital nomads.

☆ Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, is in hospice care
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks to the congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church before teaching Sunday school in his hometown of Plains, Georgia on April 28, 2019. Former President Jimmy Carter, who at 98 years old is the longest-lived American president, has entered home hospice care in Plains, Georgia, a statement from The Carter Center confirmed Saturday. Jason Carter, the couple's grandson who now chairs The Carter Center governing board, said Saturday in a tweet that he "saw both of my grandparents yesterday. That's a staggering drop from when The Carter Center began leading the global eradication effort in 1986, when the parasitic disease infected 3.5 million people. I would not deserve to be your president," Carter said often as he campaigned.

☆ I'm a 17-year-old trans kid in Utah, and I'm uprooting my life because of a law that bans gender-affirming care
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Yelena Dzhanova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Luka, a 17-year-old trans kid living in Utah, is moving to Portland to evade the ramifications. Then I learned I'm trans. They really, really helped me figure out who I am and helped me feel comfortable living as who I am. So I'm planning to leave Utah. So I'm making the decision to leave Utah as soon as I can.

The sharp contrast with Bolsonaro, who criticized environmental agents, was a relief to some scientists concerned that the retreating Amazon rainforest may be near a point of no return. Ibama's staffing and resources expanded in Lula's 2003-2010 presidency, when he managed to reduce Amazon deforestation by 72%. Rodrigo Agostinho, whom Lula tapped to run Ibama, told Reuters in an interview that the agency now has about 350 active field agents for all of Brazil. That is less than half what it had at the start of Bolsonaro's term and well below the 2,000 field agents at the peak of its powers, he added. Sidelining Ibama, Bolsonaro deployed the military to protect the Amazon, but their inexperience in conservation failed to lower deforestation while running up a massive bill.

☆ Starwood CEO Barry Sternlicht’s New Hotel Brand Bets on Outdoor Recreation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Craig Karmin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Field & Stream Lodge hotels, such as the one depicted in this rendering, are planned around national parks and other scenic destinations. Real-estate investor and hotelier Barry Sternlicht , known for sleek, design-oriented lodging brands like W Hotels and the Baccarat Hotel, is launching a new hotel chain to celebrate the great outdoors. Field & Stream Lodge Co. will operate hotels around national parks, woods, ski mountains, lakes and desert land across the U.S. It is aimed at families and outdoor enthusiasts, Mr. Sternlicht said. His real-estate firm sold the outdoor-recreation retailer of the same name in 2014 but retained the company’s lodging rights.

[1/4] A man clears away the snow from an alley as it snows on a cold winter day in Seoul, South Korea, January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Jan 26 (Reuters) - South Korea plans to double energy vouchers and a discount of gas prices for underprivileged families to cope with spiralling heating bills amid a prolonged cold wave, officials said on Thursday. Many South Korean households began to feel the impact in recent weeks after turning up the heat amid a cold spell, with monthly gas bills up 34% last month from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. "There is an inevitable aspect of realising energy prices under these difficult external circumstances," he told a briefing. Many South Koreans expressed concerns over additional hikes in energy bills as freezing winter weather continued.

Zambia has become a test case for the G20-led 'Common Framework' restructuring vehicle launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, but differences with some of its main creditors about the debt relief required means progress has been slow. Its vast swathes of national parks are home or migration routes for some of Africa's most impressive wildlife including lions and elephants. "We will be considering all debt restructuring options that are in the framework (G20 Common Framework)which falls within the DSA (debt sustainability analysis) parameters... and that are acceptable to all parties," the ministry's response added. KAZA conservation areaCOMMON FRAMEWORKWWF's Zambia country head, Nachilala Nkombo, told Reuters that the most recent talks with the government took place last month. Sri Lanka, another Common Framework restructuring country, has said that it would like to do a debt-for-nature swap and with Zambia still hoping to wrap up its deal this year it would likely set a precedent.

☆ U.S. National Parks, including Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, will be free on MLK Day—and 4 other days this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The US National Park Service will be offering no-cost admission to all of its parks, including Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Zion National Park on Monday, Jan. 16 as part of its 2023 "fee-free days." If you've been looking for an excuse to visit one of America's more than 400 national parks, now is your chance. The Colorado River wraps around Horseshoe Bend in the in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Page, Arizona. "National parks are really amazing places and we want everyone to experience them," NPS director Chuck Sams said in a statement announcing the free 2023 dates. "The entrance fee-free days encourage people to discover the beauty, history and inspiration awaiting them ... throughout the country."

☆ U.S. sets up office to oversee abandoned oil well cleanup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on Tuesday issued an order to establish an office to ensure efficient use of the Biden administration's $4.7 billion investment in the cleanup of abandoned oil and gas wells. The Orphaned Wells Program Office will be led by Kimbra Davis, who has worked at the Interior Department since 2009. Orphaned oil and gas wells are those that generally have been abandoned and are no longer producing. "The Department is standing up a new office to support states, tribes and federal land managers as they close and remediate orphaned oil and gas wells that pose environmental hazards to communities across the country," Haaland said in a statement. The number of abandoned U.S. wells has grown over the last decade, and many experts believe it will keep growing as fossil fuels are replaced with cleaner energy.

☆ Disney is making it easier for its most loyal customers to visit its theme parks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Disney is making some changes at its theme parks this year, prompted by feedback from guests who have complained about rising prices and longer wait times. In a letter Tuesday, parks and resorts Chairperson Josh D'Amaro told employees about a number of modifications to its reservation and ticketing system as well as its annual pass membership perks. This included the integration of an online reservation system, which required guests to plan visits in advance of arriving at the parks, and a reduction in capacity. During this time, Disney also pushed guests towards no-touch payment options, like its magic bands and mobile order and pay. While contactless payments are no longer required, guests can once again pay with cash, many guests have made the transition to these new methods.

☆ The Pool of Siloam, where the Bible says Jesus healed a blind man, will be open to the public for the first time in nearly 2,000 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Pool of Siloam will be fully excavated and open to the public for the first time in almost 2,000 years. The New Testament says it is where Jesus performed the miracle of healing a blind man. The pool originally functioned as part of Jerusalem's ancient water system, later becoming a site of religious significance for ancient Jewish people. A water company carrying out infrastructure work for a sewage pipe accidentally discovered steps to the pool, Israeli authorities said in the statement. Moshe Lion, Jerusalem's mayor, described the Pool of Siloam in a statement as "a site of historic, national, and international significance."

Two people died in a rock slide earlier this week at the Yosemite National Park, according to the local county sheriff’s office. On Friday evening, the park announced another closure at Big Oak Flat Road, east of Foresta, due to another rockfall incident. As of Saturday morning, Big Oak Flat Road remains closed. According to the Yosemite National Park, although uncommon, the Yosemite Valley can experience numerous rockfalls each year. According to the U.S. National Park Service, the Yosemite National Park welcomed 3.3 million visitors in 2021, making it one out of the 25 most visited national parks in the nation.

☆ I'm an Airbnb multimillionaire. Here's why I'm optimistic about the platform in 2023, and my best advice for renters to weather the economy.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Dorothy Cucci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Chris Choi, a self-made Airbnb multimillionaire and real-estate investor from California. And class C listings are usually one- to two-bedroom apartments, with nightly rates ranging from $100 to $250. Meanwhile, I've noticed that bookings for my class C and B properties have decreased in recent months. If not, they should focus on targeting business travelers with class B or C properties, which I'll get into a bit later. Instead of choosing your next Airbnb near Disneyland or national parks, I would focus on locations that will accommodate business travel — in other words, metropolitan areas.

☆ Travel abroad is poised 'for a big comeback' in 2023 as Americans eye trips to Asia, Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Jackyenjoyphotography | Moment | Getty ImagesAmericans are poised to travel overseas in a big way in 2023. Why travel abroad is poised 'for a big comeback'D3sign | Moment | Getty ImagesThirty-one percent of Americans are more interested in international than domestic travel, according to a recent poll by tourism market research firm Destination Analysts. It cited international travel among the top three trends for 2023, saying it's poised "for a big comeback." Karl Hendon | Moment | Getty Imageswatch nowWhere travel is ramping up mostHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Global demand for travel has played out similarly, with most interest directed at Europe and Asia, according to Expedia data.

☆ How billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson spend their vacations, from cruising on yachts to visiting private islands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Vacations look a little different for the world's billionaire executives. For Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt, cruising in a luxury yacht may be on the agenda. But for the wealthy and powerful, vacations look a little different. Or there's Tim Cook, Apple's billionaire CEO, who spends his time away from running the iPhone-maker exploring America's national parks. Take a look at how some of the nation's most high-powered billionaire execs spend their vacations.

☆ Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Arches National Parks Plan More Reservations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Allison Pohle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Glacier National Park will begin requiring reservations for some areas May 26 and others July 1. Three of the most popular U.S. national parks said on Friday that they would maintain—and by some measures, expand—their reservation systems. Glacier National Park in Montana is making the biggest changes, increasing the types of reservations required to visit during peak visiting months. Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and Arches National Park in Utah announced expanded windows for their reservation systems.

This one holds 25 ounces of water, more than a standard water bottle, and it's way cuter than having cups all over your nightstand. Baggu socksIllustration by Elham AtaeiazarPrice: $14 "These socks are fun and cozy, but a little on the pricey side. MoMA card holderIllustration by Elham AtaeiazarPrice: $16 "I never knew how much I hated my wallet until my mom gave me a card holder. BraletteIllustration by Elham AtaeiazarPrice: $15 "A bralette might not seem like a typical gift, but hear me out. A dozen macarons variésIllustration by Elham AtaeiazarPrice: $5.50 "This Trader Joe's treat was my first introduction to macarons, and I haven't looked back since.

☆ U.S. Congress creeps toward deadline to pass $1.5 trillion funding bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A man walks past the U.S. Capitol building as a government shutdown looms in Washington, U.S., September 30, 2021. Over the weekend, behind-the-scenes efforts made progress toward a deal on an "omnibus" spending bill. That prompted Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy to pull back from a plan to introduce a Democratic-written funding bill this week. "Chairman Leahy feels that sufficient progress in negotiations took place over the weekend to delay the introduction of the omnibus appropriations bill for the time being. But it was promptly attacked by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

☆ 19 best white elephant and Secret Santa gift ideas under $50
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Mili Godio | Mili Godio Is An Associate Reporter For Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

What is a white elephant gift exchange? A white elephant gift exchange — sometimes referred to as a Yankee swap — is a fun holiday activity in which everyone brings one wrapped gift and leaves with a different one. To help even the odds, most white elephant gift exchanges work best when all the gifts align in cost — typically within the $30-to-$75 range. What is a Secret Santa gift exchange? The best white elephant and Secret Santa gift ideasTo help you find the right gift for your white elephant and Secret Santa gift exchanges, we rounded up gift ideas based on our previous coverage and reader interest, all under $50.

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