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☆ Some Starbucks customers are furious about changes to its rewards program that makes most free drinks harder to redeem
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Mary Meisenzahl | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Customers who enroll in the chain's Starbucks Rewards program earn points — or "stars" — when purchasing food or drinks, which can then be redeemed for free menu items, like coffee. Insider spoke to four Starbucks customers who said they'll visit the chain less often thanks to the change. Though she's been a loyal customer since 2015, Graf-Juarez plans to stop visiting Starbucks, she told Insider. Amy Babby, another former Starbucks devotee, told Insider that she plans to discontinue the habit completely. Chipotle increased the number of points rewards members needed for a free burrito by 16%, and Dunkin' revamped its entire rewards system, more than doubling the amount of spending required for drinks like a free latte.

☆ How to get reimbursed for hotels and alternative transportation if your Southwest flight was canceled
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Between Wednesday and Monday, the Dallas-based carrier canceled 8,305 flights, amounting to 36% of its operation, according to FlightAware data. On Monday alone, Southwest canceled 74% of its operation and it is struggling to get back on track with 63% of flights already canceled as of 11:00 a.m on Tuesday. For comparison, the US' second-worst offender between Wednesday and Monday was Delta Air Lines with 1,865 flights canceled, which was 12% of its operation, according to FlightAware. Email Southwest for reimbursementJonathan Weiss/ShutterstockIn some cases, travelers will decide to receive a refund for a canceled flight and rebook their own transportation, like a flight on a different carrier, a rental car, or a train. Contact your credit card issuerDavid Slotnick/Business InsiderTravelers should also check if their credit card comes with trip insurance.

[1/3] Drivers push auto rickshaws in a line to buy petrol from a fuel station amid Sri Lanka's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 29, 2022. India's foreign ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters on its plans and strategic aims in Sri Lanka. New Delhi has long been concerned about China's clout in its neighbourhood, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. "And as far as Sri Lanka is concerned, we don't want to contribute to any escalation of tension between any countries." "Sri Lanka has clearly benefited from being the closest neighbour to the most powerful country in the region.

Barbara Skrobol at the grave of her sister in law, Izabela Sajbor, in southern Poland last month. Under communism, Poland had been a destination for women seeking abortions from more conservative Western European countries where it had been illegal. The ruling worked: Almost overnight, the number of legal abortions in Poland decreased by 90%, according to abortion rights advocacy groups. Mo Abbas / NBC NewsLike women living in anti-abortion U.S. states, Poles can travel to seek an abortion. Beneath her sister-in-law’s name on her headstone, the family has etched the words “Not One More” — a slogan that’s been widely used by protesters and Poland’s abortion rights movement.

The Taliban on Tuesday released two Americans who had been detained in Afghanistan, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. The releases were announced as the United Nations Security Council was meeting about Afghanistan. “Out of respect for the privacy of these individuals and their families, we are not going to confirm names.”The release came the same day the Taliban banned women from private and public universities in Afghanistan. The U.S. "condemns in strongest terms the Taliban's indefensible decision to ban women from universities, girls from secondary schools," Price said. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, it banned female education and most employment.

☆ Afghanistan’s Taliban Ban Women From Universities, Release Two Americans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | Esmatullah Kohsar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Afghanistan’s Taliban government banned women from attending university, expanding a prohibition on female education that has become a major point of contention with the international community and has drawn harsh U.S. sanctions. The announcement came as the Taliban released two American prisoners in what the Biden administration called a goodwill gesture to Washington.

☆ Flight delays and cancellations will likely impact millions of Christmas travelers. What to do when your airline experiences disruptions.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The National Weather Service has warned of a strong winter storm expected to affect holiday travel. But, some airlines offer to rebook on their website or mobile app and waive any fees, so it's sometimes easier to make changes online than in person. Carriers offering both are Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines, according to the DoT dashboard. It never hurts to request a meal or hotel during flight disruptions, and you might get lucky with a goodwill gesture from the carrier. For example, in the case of a winter storm, it's likely many passengers will end up stranded in random cities across the US.

☆ I run NORAD's Santa tracker program. It takes thousands of volunteers and state-of-the-art tech to give kids Santa's real-time location.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Taayoo Murray | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Lieutenant Sean Carter is a public-affairs officer who runs the NORAD Tracks Santa program. The tradition started by accident in 1955, and now an average of 1,500 volunteers help every year. I'm also the NORAD Tracks Santa program manager. Before taking over as the NORAD Tracks Santa program manager, I briefly worked in public affairs at Space Base Delta 1 — a Space Force unit responsible for installations all around the globe. NORAD has other events, but for the past 67 years, one of the Department of Defense's largest outreach events has been NORAD Tracks Santa.

☆ I help parents provide holiday gifts for their children. Here are the 6 biggest toy donation mistakes I see.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Jenn Morson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

McGovern also collects toys during the holidays, and Insider asked what common mistakes people make. During the holidays, we collect toys for the children of our guests. After nearly 10 years of helping parents provide gifts for their children, here are some of the most common mistakes we see in donations. People are so much more acutely aware of their own poverty around the holidays, especially children. This is one of the biggest mistakes we make, because it delineates "them" from "us."

☆ I run a holiday toy drive. Here's how to avoid common mistakes and make the most impact with your donations.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Jen Glantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

McKenna Reitz , 40, is a teacher and motivational speaker who started a toy drive at her Ohio school. 40, is a teacher and motivational speaker who started a toy drive at her Ohio school. So you have to lead with the purpose and goal for your toy drive. Every year, we do a handful of things to help get the word out about our toy drive. As we move into our eighth annual toy drive, my best piece of advice for others is to just go for it and don't feel like you have to start small.

☆ British nurses launch historic strike, as pay and staffing crises threaten the NHS
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“The reality is, every day, nurses across the UK are walking into understaffed hospitals,” Mackay said. “I feel really sorry for the young girls who are now trying to get into the profession, they have to pay for their training. Nurses’ pay dropped 1.2% every year between 2010 and 2017 once inflation was taken into account, according to the Health Foundation, a UK charity that campaigns for better health and health care. Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesEarlier this year, the RCN rejected an offer by the government to increase nurses’ pay by a minimum of £1,400 ($1,707) a year, which amounted to an average rise of 4.3%, well below the rate of inflation. Members of Britain’s armed forces were being trained to drive ambulances and firefight in the event of strike action, ministers said earlier this month.

Bankman-Fried and unnamed co-conspirators made "tens of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions" to both Democratic and Republican candidates and campaign committees, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for Southern New York, said at a news conference unveiling the eight-count criminal indictment, which included a campaign finance violation charge. "And all of this dirty money," Williams said, was used to "buy bipartisan influence and impact the direction of public policy in Washington." FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried is escorted by police officers as he leaves court in Nassau, Bahamas on Dec. 13, 2022. The indictment alleges he also made illegal contributions through a corporation, which it does not name. Once believed to be a financial wunderkind, Bankman-Fried also faces a host of other charges.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russian forces to withdraw from Ukraine this Christmas. Addressing leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) who met virtually on Monday, Zelenskyy said Russia could prove it could use the season of goodwill to abandon its aggression toward Ukraine. I see no reason why Russia should not do it now – at Christmas. The answer from Moscow will show what they really want – further confrontation with the world or finally [a] cessation of the aggression. The one who brought the war upon us has to take it away," Zelenskyy said.

☆ Hate Elon Musk all you want, but he's got one management trick that every boss should emulate
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Ed Zitron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Managers have become alarmingly distanced from the average worker, making calls based on guesses that aren't informed by actual labor. Musk has demanded that managers are able to create "good code" yet does not appear to be much of a coder himself. Jackson Palmer, a cocreator of dogecoin, said Musk was a "grifter" who "had trouble running basic code" in their interactions. He's targeted critical teams at Twitter and pushed others to quit, which have resulted in a huge upswing in hate speech on the platform. In fact, by his own logic of how managers can contribute to the company, Musk should be summarily firing himself any day now.

☆ Here's why a former Meta, Slack, and Google sales director swapped Big Tech for climate tech by joining SoftBank-backed startup Plan A
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former Meta, Slack, and Google sales director is joining SoftBank-backed carbon accounting startup Plan A.Neil Delaney, who is joining the startup as chief revenue officer, left Meta in pursuit of "ikigai." Former Google director Neil Delaney describes himself as personable; he enjoys learning and has a natural interest in people. He was working as the interim global sales director at Meta when something else caught his eye: climate tech. With 15 years in Big Tech under his belt, Delaney has now joined Berlin-based carbon accounting company Plan A as its chief revenue officer. The next wave of tech unicorns is expected to be in climate tech, and Delaney sees Plan A as one of them as long as it "executes well."

☆ Kyrsten Sinema's party switch may make life that much harder for her already stressed out Hill staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Warren Rojas | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kyrsten Sinema's staff have had a tough time on Capitol Hill, with complaints of a "demoralizing" workplace. "He (and his staff) built a lot of good relationships with other senators and their staff," Overland wrote of the goodwill Lieberman had earned during his career. "Sen. Sinema has been in office less than one term and has been causing headaches for the party pretty much the entire time." A Sinema spokesperson declined to comment for this story. John LaBombard, Sinema's former communications director, said on Friday that Sinema told her staff about her decision in advance and he had not heard any negative reaction so far.

☆ Before Herschel Walker announced his Georgia Senate bid, a law firm hired by GOP consultants compiled a 500-page dossier on him with potentially damaging information: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GOP consultants hired a law firm to conduct research on Walker before his Senate run, per NBC News. The firm compiled a 500-page dossier on Walker, which contained potentially problematic issues. Walker and his wife believed that his goodwill among Georgians would blunt negative attacks on him. But Walker and his current wife, Julie Blanchard Walker, weren't discouraged by the report. The result made Walker the only statewide Republican candidate to lose their race in Georgia this year.

☆ 'Quick quitting' can help you jump to a better job. But be careful how you do it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But career strategists say it's important that short-timers exit with dignity. But can you blame him when he got a better job offer, complete with a remote-work option, an elevated title, and a $30,000 raise plus a sign-on bonus? Robert Kelley, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, chalked up all this quick quitting to dramatic shifts in how people think about work. But Kelley and others say it's important that short-timers exit with dignity — no need to burn bridges, after all. Kelley advised offering to stay even longer even if it means delaying the start of your next job.

☆ Priyanka Chopra Jonas says she is finally earning as much as her male co-star
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Priyanka Chopra Jonas says she is finally earning as much as her male co-star, after two decades in the movie industry. In an interview with the BBC, the actress and activist revealed that she never had “pay parity” in all the years she worked in Bollywood. Chopra Jonas was among the women to feature in the UK broadcaster’s list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world, published Tuesday. The BBC posted a short video clip on its website from a wide-ranging interview with the Indian star, due to be broadcast next year. In the clip, Chopra Jonas said: “I’ve never had pay parity in Bollywood.

☆ Turkey says it expects more extraditions from Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sweden on Friday deported Turkish citizen Mahmut Tat, who had sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 after being sentenced in Turkey to six years and 10 months in jail for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "This is a good start from Sweden that shows their sincerity and goodwill. We hope new (extraditions) will follow in line with this sincerity," Bozdag said in a televised interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber. However, he made clear that Turkey expected further moves from Stockholm before it could ratify Sweden's NATO application. "In line with the trilateral memorandum with Sweden and Finland, they should lift all (arms) embargoes on Turkey, change their legislation for the fight against terrorism, and extradite all terrorists that Turkey wants.

☆ Michigan couple makes $9,000 a month teaching people to launch lucrative side hustles: Our No. 1 rule is 'anyone can do it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The McCauleys say some of their furniture flips are as simple as staging and taking fresh photos of the product. But of all their income streams, Jamie says their YouTube and social media presence is the most stressful to manage. Unlike real estate, the gambles of buying and reselling furniture are minimal in both price and risk, the McCauleys say. The McCauleys say they staged and resold this $50 Facebook Marketplace dresser for $300. Costs and effectGoing a full year without making any money from YouTube was difficult, the McCauleys say.

☆ Netflix 'Christmas Carol' reboot 'Spirited' misses Elon Musk irony
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Ani Bundel | Ani Bundel Is A Cultural Critic Who Has Been Writing Regularly Since Her Work Can Also Be Found At Elite Daily | Weta'S Telly Visions | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The Americanized “Spirited” is available on Apple TV+, while the British-based “Scrooge: A Christmas Carol” debuted on Netflix on Friday. Originally published in 1843, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was that era’s equivalent of a bestseller, with 13 editions published in the first year of print alone. (“The Muppet’s Christmas Carol,” for example, cast perpetual hero Kermit T. Frog as Cratchit rather than Scrooge.) The animation is vibrant, capturing the feel of the old Claymation-style Christmas TV specials. It is a bizarre and somewhat grotesque rewriting of the story’s moral; it's “A Christmas Carol” seen through the lens of bothsiderism.

☆ Disney succession plan is a top priority for returning CEO Bob Iger: 'People would struggle to write down three names' at the company who could step up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger is back in his old job, in a move that shocked the media world. From cost cuts to streaming to a solid future succession plan, here's what they hope the CEO will tackle. Following the stunning November 20 announcement that former Disney CEO Bob Iger would be returning to his old job, the happiest place on earth might actually be Wall Street. "What I like about Bob Iger is Bob Iger has always been direct, he's been honest, he's been willing to make tough choices," Michael Nathanson, a senior research analyst and co-founder of the firm, said in a CNBC interview. Are you a Disney insider with insight to share about Bob Iger's return?

Akin to lengthy nutrition labels, Amazon's so-called AI Service Cards will be public so its business customers can see the limitations of certain cloud services, such as facial recognition and audio transcription. The goal would be to prevent mistaken use of its technology, explain how its systems work and manage privacy, Amazon said. The cards would address AI ethics concerns publicly at a time when tech regulation was on the horizon, said Kearns. Amazon chose software touching on sensitive demographic issues as a start for its service cards, which Kearns expects to grow in detail over time. In 2019, Amazon contested a study saying the technology struggled to identify the gender of individuals with darker skin tones.

☆ 'Glass Onion' could have made $200 million, but Netflix only let it play in theaters for a week
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Netflix probably left hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by not keeping Rian Johnson's "Glass Onion" in theaters. "Glass Onion" leaves theaters Tuesday. The truncated run for "Glass Onion" also prompted industry insiders to again question the streamer's theatrical release strategy. The first film's performance at the box office has provoked questions about why Netflix has limited the release of "Glass Onion" to just one week in a limited number of theaters. "Glass Onion" earned a 93% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 238 reviews and an audience score of 92%, suggesting that it too could have generated the same kind of word of mouth.

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