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☆ A leaked Amazon generative AI sales playbook shows how the company is going after ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Microsoft and Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The strategy is revealed in a detailed internal sales guideline, titled "Generative AI Sales Playbook," obtained by Insider. The guidelines may help Amazon make a stronger push in the generative AI space, where companies including Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have taken an early lead. 'ChatGPT is a brand new, experimental offering'The guidelines focus on SageMaker's appeal to companies looking to build their own generative AI services. For example, for c-suite executives, Amazon salespeople are told to focus on how generative AI can "improve efficiency by automating operations," the document said. For those with a bit more experience in AI, Amazon salespeople are advised to recommend new generative AI capabilities and AWS offerings to accelerate their development process.

Persons: Bard, SageMaker, JumpStart, Sam Altman Drew Angerer, Sparrow, It's, I'm, haven't, you've, Canva's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Stability, AI21 Labs, Amazon Alexa, AWS, Burnham

☆ Strikes, Delays and Lost Luggage: How to Survive Air Travel This Summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Elaine Glusac | The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +27 min

Illustration by Yukai Du Strikes, Delays and Lost Luggage: How to Survive Air Travel This Summer With the travel season in full swing, we compiled a guide to help you navigate the year’s most hectic time in the skies. If you don’t care which beach, shop around.” If you haven’t booked summer flights, do it now. For one, avoiding the airports with the highest levels of delays and cancellations last summer may be a good idea. They’re also getting longer inside airport lounges, longtime havens from the masses clogging the terminals at peak times. Standard membership in Priority Pass, a network of 1,300 airport lounges, starts at $99 a year, with each visit costing $35 at that level.

Persons: Yukai Du, we’ve, haven’t, Hopper, What’s, ”, Laura Lindsay, Ted Rossman, Priceline, Mr, Rossman, Charlotte Douglas, Toronto Pearson, it’s, “, Carter Langston, Rhonda Lawson, C.B.P, you’ve, you’re, You’ll, Lawson, Emmanuel Macron, Tomasz Pawliszyn, Jamie Larounis, Larounis, they’re, SITA —, They’re, Eric Goldmann of Atlanta Organizations: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Google, Miami, JetBlue, Heathrow Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol, Gatwick, Air Canada, Labor, Newark Liberty International, La Guardia Airport, Kennedy Airport, Reagan, Miami International, Orlando International, Boston Logan International, Charlotte Douglas International, Toronto Pearson, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington , D.C, Customs, Western, Gulf, Phoenix, Transportation Security Administration, Global, Border Protection, Clear, PreCheck, Heathrow, Air, SNCF, U.S . State Department, Smart, Union, Travelers, New Tech, Airlines, Lufthansa, Siemens, Alaska Airlines, KLM, U.S . Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Apple, The Department of Transportation, American, Venture, Dallas Fort Worth International, JPMorgan Chase, Club, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Americas Locations: Europe, United States, Asia, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Fla, Miami, London, Amsterdam, U.S, La, New York, Washington, Charlotte, N.C, Newark, Orlando, Toronto, Sydney, Jakarta, Frankfurt, Munich, Heathrow, Washington ,, States, Denver, Seattle, Reno, Nev, Gulf Coast, Atlantic, Houston , New Orleans, Atlanta, Luton, T.S.A, ’, noncitizens, France, Britain, Italy, Germany, Berlin, Dutch, Swiss, Delta, United, Hong Kong, Dallas, Boston, North, Central, South America, Dallas , Newark

Section Four of 14th Amendment, adopted after the 1861-1865 Civil War, states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." WHERE DOES THE WHITE HOUSE STAND ON THE 14TH AMENDMENT? HOW WOULD MARKETS REACT IF BIDEN USES THE 14TH AMENDMENT? Administration officials and economists have said that a default triggered by a debt-ceiling breach would roil the world financial system and plunge the United States into recession. That immediate catastrophe might be avoided if Biden invoked the 14th Amendment.

☆ A Lego Crime, a YouTube Rivalry, and the End of a Star Wars Friendship
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Those who are into Lego Star Wars are among the most popular. It was at an informal contest where Louis met Victor, a fellow Lego Star Wars fanatic. Soon they ranked among the most popular Lego Star Wars YouTubers in France, known for the size and scope of their MOCs. The two friends no longer fit with that satisfying click that comes from snapping together two Lego bricks. Though it must have taken a truck to haul away all of Louis' Lego, no neighbor reported seeing anything suspicious.

☆ Parrots, paper clips and safety vs. ethics: Why the artificial intelligence debate sounds like a foreign language
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

After the hearing, he summed up his stance on AI regulation, using terms that are not widely known among the general public. "AGI safety is really important, and frontier models should be regulated," Altman tweeted. Large language models, like OpenAI's GPT-4, are frontier models, as compared to smaller AI models that perform specific tasks like identifying cats in photos. Some are more concerned about what they call "AI safety." "There must be clear guidance on AI end uses or categories of AI-supported activity that are inherently high-risk," Montgomery told Congress.

☆ Exclusive: Staff at top U.S. farm research center file complaint alleging unsafe work conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Leah Douglas | Thomson Reuters | Washington-Based Award-Winning Journalist Covering Agriculture | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) near Washington D.C. is the largest research facility owned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and has long been the flagship of U.S. farm research. “Our employees’ health and well-being is our top priority," a spokesperson at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), which oversees BARC, told Reuters. STAFF CUTSFounded in 1910, the BARC facility spans nearly 7,000 acres in Prince George’s County, Maryland, near the nation’s capital. The unreliable conditions are affecting research outcomes, making it at times impossible to complete experiments or replicate their findings, said two research employees. On February 22, several BARC employees met with Thomas Shanower, the director of USDA’s Northeast Area, a division that oversees 15 research centers, including BARC.

☆ This Summer We’re Helping Scientists Track Birds. Join In.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

This Summer We’re Helping Scientists Track Birds. This data will help scientists understand better how birds are affected by forces like climate change and habitat loss. We’re obviously a little bit biased here, so I’m going to recommend the Merlin Bird ID app. Nearly half of all bird species worldwide are known or suspected to be in decline, and climate change could accelerate this trend. Look up past reports of that species on the eBird Species Map and zoom in on your city.

Persons: Mike McQuade, We’ll, Michelle Mildenberg Daryln Brewer Hoffstot, phoebe, Hoffstot, Indigo Goodson, “, Kirsten Luce, Alli Smith, Merlin, —, It’s, That’s, Andrew Spear, ”, Tom Auer, Mr, Auer, birders, James T, Tanner, Steven C, Latta, Chris Elphick, . Latta, Michaels, et, Christine Schuldheisz, Richard O ., Ivory, they’d, Mark, Elphick, there’s, ” Dr, eBird, I’m Organizations: Birds, Cornell, of Ornithology, The New York Times, New York Times, University of Connecticut, Credit, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Yale, Times, Cornell Lab, Walmart Locations: Pennsylvania, North America, Virginia, South America, Canada, Alaska, Louisiana, Pittsburgh, United States, Cuba, Arkansas, eBird

☆ The Fed could enact a 'substitute' interest rate hike at its June meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Federal Reserve officials could talk tough enough at their June meeting that it would amount to a de facto interest rate hike. "All Fed officials are being careful not to exclude a June hike with more data to come and we would not completely exclude this either," he added. A "substitute" hike could see the rhetoric out of the June meeting reasserting the Fed's stern commitment to fighting inflation and disinclination toward easing anytime soon. But some taming in the inflation data , stronger economic signals and repeated statements from central bankers that cuts are not in their forecast have caused a shift. Fed fund futures contracts are implying a 4.585% funds rate by the end of the year, from the current 5.08%.

☆ Earth-size exoplanet may be covered in volcanoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Instead, the exoplanet, called LP 791-18 d, is likely covered in volcanoes and may experience eruptions with the same frequency as Jupiter’s moon Io, the most volcanically active place in our solar system, according to researchers. LP 791-18 d is located about 90 light-years from Earth in the Crater constellation, where it orbits a small red dwarf star. And astronomers believe the massive planet LP 971-18 c might be contributing to the newly detected exoplanet’s possible volcanism. As the two objects orbit their star, LP 971-18 c and the newfound exoplanet LP 791-18 d closely pass each other, allowing the gravitational pull of the larger planet LP 971-18 c to tug on planet d and reshape its orbit. The discovery of LP 971-18 d points to the importance of data collected by space telescopes.

☆ Can the World Make an Electric Car Battery Without China?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Agnes Chang | Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

China controls 6% of the world’s nickel 78% of graphite 5% of manganese China controls 6% of the world’s nickel 78% of graphite 5% of manganese Source: CRU Group, U.S.G.S. China makes 73% of NMC cathodes 99% of LFP cathodes China makes 73% of NMC cathodes 99% of LFP cathodes Source: CRU Group Note: Data for “NMC cathodes” category includes NMC, NCA, NMCA; “LFP cathodes” includes LFP, LMFP. China makes 66% of the world’s battery cells 2.8” Cathode Each car has thousands of cells. China makes 54% of the world’s electric cars China makes 54% of the world’s electric cars Source: IEA Note: Data for 2021American investors remain wary about putting money into electric vehicles. Electric car buyers in China get tax rebates, cheaper vehicle registration, preferential parking and access to an extensive charging network.

☆ What’s a President to Do When a Nation’s Capital Is Sinking? Move It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Hannah Beech | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +38 min

A new capital city for a place with such disparities and diversity presents both a challenge and a chance for reinvention. Moving the Seat of Power From Java to Borneo Detail area Malaysia Nusantara Borneo Java Sea Indonesia Jakarta Java Indian Ocean Detail area Malaysia Nusantara Borneo Java Sea Indonesia Jakarta Java Indian Ocean Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara, will be about 800 miles from the current capital, Jakarta. It cannot be overnight, it’s not like Aladdin comes with his genie,” said Bambang Susantono, the head of the Nusantara Capital City Authority. We have to prove that this will be a self-propelling city.” — Bambang Susantono, head of the Nusantara Capital City AuthorityCritics of I.K.N. Indonesia’s capital city faces sinking land and rising seas.

Her mother Sarah — a former deli shop owner — was bored with retirement and had decided to open an ice cream shop in Bethesda, Maryland. "To be honest, at first I was like, 'ice cream shop?'" Running the ice cream shopDespite Sarah's Handmade Ice Cream successful grand opening, it took over six months for the business to become "a well-oiled machine," Park says. Instead, Park and her mother donate ice cream to local nonprofits and community organizations, which has attracted loyal customers in the Bethesda area. Within a few months of opening the first store, Park realized the business didn't have to be limited to just "a mom-and-daughter shop."

☆ How to invest in the S&P 500 — a guide to the funds that mimic the influential index's makeup and moves
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Martin Daks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

After tracking the S&P 500 from 1965 to 2021, Berkshire Hathaway found the compound annual gain in the S&P 500 was 10.5%. In the case of S&P 500 index funds, the stocks are those of the companies listed in the S&P 500. With 500+ stocks in their portfolio, S&P 500 funds are especially diversified, their securities representing a range of industries. With 500+ stocks in their portfolio, S&P 500 funds are especially diversified, their securities representing a range of industries. The diversified, passive approach of S&P 500 funds — like most index funds — means an investor's downside is generally limited.

The Boston Chase Sapphire Lounge will open on May 16, and if you have a Sapphire Reserve you get unlimited access. That's about to change with today's announcement of a new Chase Sapphire Lounge opening at Boston Airport on May 16, 2023. This is exciting news for Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders, as it's the first domestic Sapphire Lounge location. The food at the Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston is much more upscale than your average cheese and crackers at other lounges. ChaseChase Sapphire Lounge accessBank-branded luxury airport lounges aren't new, and the Boston Chase Sapphire Lounge looks to be just as good, if not better than competitors like Amex Centurion lounges and Capital One lounges.

☆ I Got My Name From Connie Chung. So Did They. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Connie Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

In my freshman class alone, there was a Connie Zheng, a Connie Guo, a Connie Xu, a few Connie Chengs, and multiple Connie Wangs. That ayi was Constance Yu-Hwa Chung, or, as the world knows her, Connie Chung. Connie Chung hosting the “CBS Evening News” in 1991, the year after the author named herself Connie. Connie Wang Connie Koh Connie Yang Connie Tang Connie Jang Connie Chung Connie Moy Connie Huang Connie Kwok Connie Chang Connie Sun Connie Chung, center, surrounded by 10 members of Generation Connie. Clockwise from top right, Connie Yang, Connie Tang, Connie Moy, Connie Sun, Connie Chang, Connie Kwok, Connie Huang, Connie Jang, Connie Wang and Connie Koh.

☆ MSG: The world's most misunderstood ingredient
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Case in point – he has the letters “MSG” tattooed on his arm, and his restaurant’s menu includes a signature drink called the MSG Martini. “Things just taste better with MSG, whether it’s Western food or Cantonese food,” the chef tells CNN. You’ve probably been playing with glutamate, inosinate and guanylate in your own cooking without even realizing it. We season our food with MSG a little bit – it’s different from heating water and adding MSG and serving it with noodles,” he says. “Our mission from the very beginning was to show people what Cantonese food is and what Cantonese food can be – it’s always going to be playful, fun and approachable,” says Eng.

☆ Hurricanes of Data: The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Porter Fox | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +35 min

The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea Shortly after dawn on Sept. 30, 2021, Richard Jenkins watched a Category 4 hurricane overrun his life’s work. That August, a sister ship, SD 1031, successfully entered Tropical Storm Henri, but only in its early stages. Hurricane research, modeling and forecasting requires many terabytes of data for every square mile the storm passes through, including vitally important sea-level data from inside a storm. The next day, the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and officially given the name Sam. And four months later, Tropical Storm Megi killed more than 150, wiped out several villages with landslides and displaced more than a million people.

☆ What Chile's state-led lithium policy means for the future of the electric vehicle industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The only two lithium companies currently operating in Chile are North Carolina-based Albemarle , the largest lithium producer in the world, and SQM , the No. Chile's lithium is of particular strategic importance to the U.S., which has a free trade agreement with the country but not with neighboring Argentina. The plan calls for the creation of a national lithium company to partner with all private businesses looking to enter the sector. Bags of battery-grade lithium carbonate at La Negra, Albemarle's lithium processing plant near Antofagasta, Chile. Lenny-Pessagno told CNBC in January that Albemarle supports the creation of a state-owned lithium company.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a short-term extension of the debt ceiling has been enacted six times since 1993 to buy time for a broader package to take shape. For now, the White House remains committed publicly to its position pushing for a long-term solution and remains open to a two-track process to negotiate spending separately from the debt ceiling. "This is not our plan," a White House spokesperson said of a short-term extension. Moderate Democrats in Congress have signaled a willingness to vote for a short-term extension — making it an option that could pass through a deeply divided legislative branch. "I think if the White House understands how important it is for us to do things like claw back unobligated Covid funds, not spend $500 billion on an unconstitutional student loan forgiveness, start to unlock American energy," Johnson tells NBC News, "I think they're going to find Republicans receptive if the White House understands our values."

☆ Opinion | Dianne Feinstein Has to Act
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Without Senator Dianne Feinstein, there might never have been an assault weapons ban in 1994. Or the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994. Her absence is a failure that deprives American voters of full representation on legislation and appointments that will affect them for decades to come. (Proxy voting is allowed in the committee, but a proxy cannot be the decisive vote if the committee is otherwise evenly divided, as it often is.) Ms. Feinstein offered to step away from the committee, but Republican senators blocked any effort at appointing a temporary replacement.

☆ The Met Walks a Fine Line on Lagerfeld: Judge the Clothes, Not the Man
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I admit: I never entirely drank the Karl Lagerfeld Kool-Aid. I was not one of those critics (and there were some) who would clutch their breast, shriek “genius!” and swoon after every show. Sure, that tweed sweatsuit made that model look like a Real Housewife — but everyone was looking at the double-C branded pasta on the faux megamart shelf instead! Once I got spoken to by the Chanel press office for not fully “understanding” Lagerfeld’s vision. He didn’t give the world a new silhouette, or an expression of identity, the way Coco Chanel herself did, with the bouclé suit, or Christian Dior, with the New Look, or Saint Laurent, with Le Smoking, the tuxedo suit for women.

If Congress fails to act, some legal experts say Democratic President Joe Biden has another option to avert a crisis: Invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure the United States can continue to pay its bills. Section Four of 14th Amendment, adopted after the 1861-1865 Civil War, states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." HOW WOULD MARKETS REACT IF BIDEN USES THE 14TH AMENDMENT? Administration officials and economists have warned that a default triggered by a debt-ceiling breach would roil the world financial system and plunge the United States into recession. That immediate catastrophe might be avoided if Biden invoked the 14th Amendment.

☆ Why Tesla keeps making the Model S and X even as sales dwindle
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Production ramped up slowly, but by 2017, Tesla was selling more than 100,000 a year of the Model S and its SUV sibling, the Model X. Similarly, pricing for the Model X SUV starts at about $98,000 but the smaller Model Y starts at just $47,000. Still, much like the S-class for Mercedes-Benz, the Model S remains Tesla’s flagship model, representing the brand. In fact, within its competitive class, the Tesla Model S and X are good sellers. By this point in their long lives, the Tesla Model S and X have become a stream of fairly steady profits, said Cox.

☆ Inside NBCUniversal, female execs are eyeing leadership's next moves after CEO Jeff Shell's ouster over 'inappropriate relationship': 'We're watching'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NBCUniversal insiders are reeling after chief Jeff Shell's stunning departure and asking questions about what's next for the Comcast division. News of Shell's hasty exit dropped April 23 after an investigation into what he called an "inappropriate relationship" with a company employee. "It's shocking," said one employee, wondering how an executive at Shell's level would take such a risk with his career. Two staffers also grumbled that the company hasn't widely addressed the matter internally since its terse statement announcing Shell's exit. Keeping Cavanagh atop NBCU could serve another purpose — to help bring about a merger of Comcast with Warner Bros.

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